"It’s a very big community. So it’s important because we are creating loyalty among fans" - Tournament director predicts huge turnout in Filipino fans in Dubai to watch Eala

When going to a tennis tournament these days, the norm is to see a group of Philippines tennis fans flocking to the court that Alexandra Eala is playing on to offer their support and passion. The same trend is set to be on show in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with the director of the tournament explaining his hope for more huge crowds.

The second WTA 1000 tournament is set to take place in the UAE. Eala is one of the many talented players who has been playing in the Middle East swing, already having played two tournaments this year in this part of the world. This began with a venture to the quarter-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open where she was defeated by the second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. Her participation in the Qatar Open was very short lived with Tereza Valentova getting another win over her fellow prodigy.

The similarity with all these events is that she has regularly got a huge amount of support from Filipina fans travelling from far and wide to cheer on their trailblazer. Already a WTA title winner, Eala broke out onto the scene in the Miami Open were entered as a wildcard, she defeated some of the best players in the world enroute to the semi-finals. She also squandered a handful of championship points in the Eastbourne Open before getting her first success in a WTA 125 event in Guadalajara.

She has regularly been breaking barriers for her country. She was the first to reach a WTA final before winning a title while her breakthrough into the top 100 in the world was a huge milestone hit very early in her career. She has gone on to rank as high as world number 40. Currently sitting in number 45, the tournament in Dubai is another golden opportunity for the 20-year-old to make more headway up the rankings.

The tournament director Salah Tahlak was very hopeful that the atmosphere will be sublime for Eala. He went on to compare it to a similar scenario for Indian tennis player Sania Mirza back in 2005. She was an immensely popular tennis player with thousands of Indians coming over to Dubai to watch her reach the third round of the event.

“I think it will be the same. It was very big, the crowd was massive, and the atmosphere was incredible for Sania Mirza,” Tahlak stated. He was also very complimentary of Eala. “I expect the same kind of atmosphere for Eala when she plays her first match here. She is a fantastic young player. She is very positive and very enthusiastic. So we are hopeful.”

A lot of Filipino people live in the UAE and will be glad to take this opportunity to see Eala in the flesh. “We have three thousand Filipino staff in Dubai Duty Free. And such a Filipino presence in Dubai and the UAE in general. I think it’s close to one million, the number of Filipinos we have in the UAE now," he explained. "It’s a very big community. So it’s important because we are creating loyalty among fans. You create knowledge and awareness about the player, and they follow the player."

It is a huge chance to grow tennis in Asia. “She is an Asian player who is making a mark on the world stage. So when a rising Asian star arrives here for this tournament, it will only upgrade the tennis and our tournament.”

Eala herself was not hiding her excitement to be making her debut in this tournament. “It means a lot to me to be playing in Dubai," she said before the tournament. “There are a lot of Filipinos in the Middle East and in Dubai. That’s why it’s going to be special for me to play here.”

Her first test will come in the form of an inform Hailey Baptiste on Centre Court. A couple of weeks ago she reached the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open, losing to Alexandrova. If Eala can find a way past the lucky loser, she will then have a matchup against the number six seed Jasmine Paolini, something that she will be very much up for.