{"id":837127,"date":"2026-09-05T08:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/837127\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T08:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:06:29","slug":"alex-eala-reels-in-fans-and-followers-with-wins-fashion-and-smiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/837127\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Eala Reels in Fans and Followers with Wins, Fashion and Smiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNo matter how far Alex Eala goes at this year\u2019s U.S. Open, the 21-year-old tennis<\/a> phenom is winning over droves of fans.<\/p>\n

Last month, Eala became the\u00a0highest ranked Filipino and Southeast Asian \u2014 18th in the world \u2014 in the Women\u2019s Tennis<\/a> Association\u2019s tour history. Ready for a third-round showdown on Saturday against American Iva Jovic at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, N.Y., the stylish pro has become a must watch, even beyond her 2 million Instagram followers and the tennis crowd.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"HONG<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAlex Eala of Philippines competes in the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open at Victoria Park on Oct. 30, 2025, in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tTwo-time U.S. Open winner Tracy Austin said the zeal around the player is \u201cfantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMany people who never followed tennis at all are now taking a liking to it, because she\u2019s such a phenom,\u201d Austin said. <\/p>\n

\n\tEven rivals like Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula are publicly praising her rising influence on tennis, her athleticism, talent and star status.<\/p>\n

Aside from her personality and poise, Eala\u2019s personal story \u2014 getting a scholarship from the Rafa Nadel Academy in Mallorca, Spain, and leaving the Philippines at the age of 12 \u2014 is intriguing, Austin said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s a big step for a young lady, not speaking the language, and moving to go after her dreams. But she knew to have the possibility of playing on the pro tour she needed more experienced coaches and more experienced competition,\u201d the former tennis champ said. <\/p>\n

\n\tDuring a phone interview from the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center Friday, Austin said of Eala: \u201cShe standing about 20 feet away from me right now. She\u2019s young, bright, articulate, and plays fearlessly out there. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s a lot pressure for her but she appears to be handling it beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"AUCKLAND,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAlex Eala thanks the crowd after losing her semifinal match at the 2025 ASB Classic at ASB Tennis Centre on Jan. 10 in Auckland, New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tCiting Eala\u2019s burgeoning audience, Austin recalled how Filipino cuisine was added to the food court\u2019s menu at last month\u2019s National Bank Open in Toronto, and after promptly selling out, additional options were added the following night. <\/p>\n

\n\tAlong with her on-court sponsors Nike<\/a> and Babalot, Eala has sponsorship deals <\/a>with Panasonic, Marriott Bonvoy, Globe Telecom, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Locally and Milo. <\/p>\n

\n\tFor the U.S. Open, Nike<\/a> has allowed Eala to have the logos of two of her other sponsors \u2014 BPI and Globe Telecom \u2014 near the neckline of her tennis attire along with its Swoosh, a rarity for Nike-sponsored athletes. Last year she banked $907,777 and Forbes estimates that her sponsorship earnings are $5 million-plus.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Alex<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAlex Eala celebrates after winning the women\u2019s singles championship match against Jessica Pegula at the Mubadala DC Open on Aug. 3 in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tFavoring bold colors like royal blue, granny apple green and unexpected combinations like mauve and burgundy for her tennis attire, Eala is tough to miss on the courts. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn a recent Vogue video interview, she complimented the tennis fashion of Serena and Venus Williams<\/a> and Chris Evert, and singled out Maria Sharapova as her \u201cstyle icon.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n

\n\tEala\u2019s 1.9 million Instagram followers can keep up with her current New York moment via snaps of her hamming it up in high heels in Times Square, showing off smartphone emoji stickers like \u201cMoney Maker\u201d and \u201cHot Girls Read Books,\u201d having dinner with a friend and of course, competing at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

\n\tFans are also shown waving the flag of the Philippines, an overhead shot of Eala\u2019s black Chanel<\/a> handbag and the WTA player posing in distressed jeans and a tangerine-colored open-back top. Tying into the buzz, this week, Town & Country hailed the force behind \u201cEala-mania,\u201d by reposting their August 2025 digital cover.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"WASHINGTON,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAlex Eala<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tFashion designer and tennis player Eugenia Kim, who has a tennis line, said of Eala\u2019s rise: \u201cEveryone loves the underdog and the U.S. Open is kind of the underdog place. New York and America are very much about you can do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"AUCKLAND,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAlex Eala <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tKim added that Eala\u2019s \u201cspeeches make me want to cry, because they\u2019re so passionate, but humble. Her game is so strong. She has great personal style and she\u2019s very sweet. It\u2019s also great that she\u2019s Asian and all of the Filipinos are rallying around her. It\u2019s kind of an underserved nation in relation to tennis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four years ago, Eala scored a Vogue Philippines cover wearing a JW Anderson dress and a Fumito Ganryu sweater. Recalling that Eala\u2019s parents were \u201csupportive\u201d during that shoot, stylist Blake Samson-Reissy said Eala knows \u201cexactly\u201d what she likes and what works for her and is vocal about that. Describing Eala as \u201cgrounded, thoughtful and decisive but still very warm and human,\u201d Samson-Reissy said, \u201cPeople recognize themselves in her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eala\u2019s ascent is prideful for many of the Philippines\u2019 117.87 million residents. Reaching the global stage can be challenging, due to the country\u2019s funding, facilities and institutional support, the Manila-based Samson-Reissy said. \u201cThere are even affectionate memes about how unmistakably local she is, including an unverified joke about her being one of the first international athletes to Have GCash, the mobile payment app that nearly everyone [here] uses,\u201d Samson-Reissy said.<\/p>\n

\n\tFilipino-American fashion designer and avid tennis fan Josie Natori also spoke of how\u00a0Eala\u2019s rocketing fame is \u201cvery exciting for the country\u201d and what \u201ca good ambassador\u201d she is for the Philippines. Whether rooting for pro boxer Manny Pacquaio or any other Filipino world-class athlete, Natori said, \u201cWe as a country support our sports. We love our athletes and people from all walks of life come out to support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natori said Eala\u2019s appeal is intertwined with her personality. \u201cShe\u2019s warm, amiable, friendly and always smiling. She\u2019s perfect personality for sports. I am definitely planning to connect with her,\u201d the designer said.<\/p>\n

Eala\u2019s uncle, Rhett Eala, is also a Filipino-born\u00a0fashion designer. He said his world-class niece is\u00a0discovering her style, \u201cloves pink\u201d and feminine pieces.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe elder Eala, who has a signature fashion collection, said his niece was \u201cvery involved\u201d with the design of the modern Filipiniana that she wore to the Laureus Sports Awards in Madrid in March. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to using\u00a0Pi\u00f1a, a translucent, luxury fabric that is woven with the leaf fibers from pineapples, she requested terno sleeves, which are butterfly shaped, and a top that could be removed so that the Gen Zer could dance. He offered two options, and \u201cshe chose the simpler and sleeker design,\u201d Rhett Eala said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No matter how far Alex Eala goes at this year\u2019s U.S. Open, the 21-year-old tennis phenom is winning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[96162,13218,99,428,11883],"class_list":["post-837127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-chanel","tag-nike","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-us-open"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}