"People come and support me because tennis is now so popular there" - Alexandra Eala offers explanation on how tournaments can attract more fans

A second consecutive WTA 1000 quarterfinal is close to becoming reality for Alexandra Eala at Indian Wells after she defeated Coco Gauff in the third round 6-2, 2-0, with the American retiring due to a painful left arm injury. She is one of the most popular players on the WTA Tour and has offered her opinion on how tournaments can attract more fans on the level that she has completed over the last year.

Eala was dominant against Gauff, winning the final five games to take the first set. Gauff was struggling with her left arm, calling a medical timeout a game before the final set. She soldiered on for a little bit longer but after going a break down she called it a day to avoid anymore damage, giving Eala a free route through to the fourth round.

While she was delighted with the progress being made in this competition, it was not the way she wanted to win. "It’s always very difficult. It’s a difficult decision to retire from a match," she said in her press conference. "I know no one likes winning like that and no one likes losing like that. Nevertheless, I’m really happy with how I played and really happy with my performance. I hope I can make the best out of the momentum."

Eala produced this result on International Women's Day, and she made the most of the occasion after her match by offering her gratitude to all the women in the world, sharing a special mention to her mother who was in the stands.

Tennis is one of the most equal sports on the planet in terms of prize money and attention. She was asked whether the WTA Tour is close to closing the gap fully to the ATP. She kept her true feelings to herself.

"I’m not really sure how far the gap is between the WTA and ATP, just because I’m not on the ATP circuit," she acknowledged. "I think the WTA is a great platform for us professional women tennis players. It gives us a lot of opportunities, and I’m very grateful for everything they’ve built for us — giving us the chance to become these stars and to do what we love on such grand stages. So that’s all I’m going to say about that."

The last time they faced was as recent as the 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. It was a first meeting between the pair with Gauff making the most of the occasion with a stunning 6-0 6-2 win. Eala would extract her revenge in Indian Wells but not the way she would have wanted.

It takes a lot of mental strength to come back from a hammering like that in Dubai against one of the best players in the world but Eala has proven that she can do so. "There’s no technique that I use specifically. I think I’ve gained a certain amount of experience over the years in how to handle these high-pressure situations."

Being so young still, she admits that there is a lot to learn on the biggest stage. "Of course, it’s taken up a notch when you’re playing big players and when you’re playing on big courts, so it’s a learning experience for me. What I try to do is focus on the next thing I have to do. I try not to think about the bigger picture, and I focus on what I can control."

Concentration and aggression were the tools utilised from the 20-year-old as her key weapons to reverse the damage. "I think my focus was a big point of my match today and part of my strategy, as well as the intensity in my legs and the intensity I was able to produce to be aggressive," she said.

"I took the learnings from the last match and tried to do things differently — better in certain areas that I can control. I know Coco is a great player and she’s going to give you a hard time, so there’s not much you can do about the other person playing well. I tried to focus on what I could control."

Eala has already done wonders in terms of getting fans into the sport. The Filipina has been a trailblazer in her home country of the Philippines, relishing the chance to be the poster girl for her country and in turn getting a lot of citizens from her native country into the sport.

"Well, I love that it’s not just myself bringing different and new demographics into the audience and into the sport," she stated, saying that she is not the only one helping tennis grow. Packed out Grand Stands for any Eala match is common these days with a large chunk of Filipino fans closely following her progress.

She was asked tournaments could get more fans to attend. "Personally, I think one of the ways — and I’m not saying that I know everything — is for the tennis community to develop the sport in countries where tennis is not as big as other sports," she began.

"Speaking from my experience, tennis has grown so much in my country, and I think that really adds to the fact that people come and support me because tennis is now so popular there. People are developing a genuine interest in the sport."

She used the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne as a case study. "Another example is the Australian Open, where there were four women from Southeast Asia in the main draw — Lana Nugroho, Mai Hontama, Janice Tjen, and myself. That attracted another demographic that maybe wasn’t as present in previous years. Another example is my friend Zeynep Sönmez from Turkey. She’s been bringing in a lot of Turkish fans and people from the Middle East. If tennis continues to develop in those countries, it will naturally grow the sport and naturally produce high-level competitors. That’s my opinion."

Eala announced herself on the big stage with a stunning and vastly unexpected run at the Miami Open last year. She defeated the likes of Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek enroute to the semi-finals where she pushed Jessica Pegula but ultimately lost in three sets. "I think that Miami run was really big. It was my biggest result, and it was kind of the spark that lit the fire."

It was a huge learning curve for the youngster who has continued to build her tennis career on the foundations placed down from that week. "I learned so much from that week and I’ll always remember it that way. But there have been so many things that have happened between then and now that have added to how I’ve grown as a player and as a person."

The longer she is playing and surrounding herslef with the best players in the world, the more she will learn and gain. "One of the biggest things is maturity and experience. Being able to surround myself consistently with this level of tennis players and this level of competition pushes me to be better. I’m trying to find my limits and go past them."

Her last-16 tie will be against 21-year-old Linda Noskova who is herself cementing her name among the top players in the world at such a young age. Already having a head start of Eala, both players will be hunting for a third WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

"I haven’t thought about it yet, if I’m being completely truthful — I just got off the court. But Linda is an amazing player, very powerful and, even at such a young age, very experienced," she commented. "So I’m excited. It’s my first fourth round at Indian Wells Open, so I’m going to go in with good preparation and a lot of motivation."