NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The Alex Eala fans came bearing Filipino flags, and wearing hats telling her to fight on (\u201cLaban Alex\u201d). They cheered her sizzling groundstrokes, documented her volleys and serves in photos and video, and in some cases FaceTimed with friends or family.<\/p>\n
And this was only at the practice courts.<\/p>\n
It was about four hours before Eala was to take the court for her first-round U.S. Open match Monday night, and every seat at the practice court was filled. Many of Eala\u2019s fans didn\u2019t have tickets for the evening session. But they\u2019d come to see their idol hit some tennis balls.<\/p>\n
It was hardly surprising, given the enormous, ardent, ever-growing fan base<\/a> that now surrounds the charismatic 21-year-old. This summer has seen Eala beat Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and win her first tour singles title<\/a>. She\u2019s at a career-best 18th in the world, and she breezed into the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Mary Stoiana \u2014 closing it out with a confident smile.<\/p>\n One of the fans watching practice on a rainy afternoon was Andrea Belen, at 21 the same age as Eala. Belen, a premed student at New York University, explained that she hadn\u2019t been a big tennis fan until Eala came along \u2014 someone who looked just like her.<\/p>\n Belen\u2019s father back home in Cleveland (the family\u2019s originally from Laguna in the Philippines) also became a tennis fan out of pure admiration for Eala. \u201cIt\u2019s his new obsession,\u201d Belen said. \u201cIt\u2019s become the family hobby.\u201d<\/p>\n She and her friend, Sarah Frederick, had arrived at the practice court long before Eala was to appear, surmising correctly that the seats would fill quickly.<\/p>\n Belen explained that in the Philippines, basketball and boxing reign supreme, and the sports heroes are men. \u201cIt\u2019s just really nice to see a woman out there,\u201d Belen said. \u201cAlso, she speaks in our native language, Tagalog.\u201d<\/p>\n As Belen chatted and Eala pounded her groundstrokes, a voice from the row behind Belen called out: \u201cYay, Alex!\u201d<\/p>\n Ellene Santos had come to the tournament from Orlando, Florida. Like Belen and Frederick, she did not have tickets for the evening match. But Santos, 67, was thrilled to get her Eala fix, just the same. \u201cI\u2019m happy now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n With practice over, four retired nurses, all friends, headed for the exit. They were wearing bright blue hats emblazoned with the phrase, \u201cLaban Alex,\u201d an exhortation to \u201cfight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI love how Alex shows she is so proud to be from the Philippines,\u201d said Joy Rodriguez, 65, explaining her ardent fandom. Her friend, Maria Espiritu, 67, said this was the first tennis tournament she\u2019d ever attended.<\/p>\n Nearby, Frances Arespacochaga, 77, was taking photos with fellow attendees. Arespacochaga lives in Manila, and was in the United States visiting her sister in Massachusetts. Together they drove down to see Eala at the U.S. Open \u2014 bearing flags. <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s very intelligent, very articulate,\u201d Arespacochaga said of Eala. \u201cIn her interviews you can see her values.\u201d<\/p>\n Belen, who FaceTimed with her father during the practice session so he could see Eala, spoke of a special Filipino pride in the achievements of countrymen. Like gymnast Carlos Yulo, who won two gold medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone went crazy,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re not that big of a country so those golds meant so much.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe\u2019re very loud when it comes to supporting our people.\u201d<\/p>\n Should Eala stick around a while at the U.S. Open, it\u2019s bound to get a lot louder.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n