"She has to deal with this life of being like Michael Jordan in the Philippines": Alexandra Eala should be protected like a big star says Kim Clijsters

On the Love All podcast with Blair Henley, Kim Clijsters offered an in-depth look at the rapid rise of Alexandra Eala, the challenge of handling passionate support, and how crowd dynamics affected her own career at the highest level of the game.

Eala’s surge up the rankings, from No. 137 in the world a year ago to No. 31 after her run in Dubai, has been one of the standout storylines of the season. Her matches in Dubai drew massive support from Filipino fans, creating an atmosphere not typically seen at that event.

But beyond the crowds, Clijsters sees a player whose game presents serious tactical challenges. “There are a lot of things that she does really well,” Clijsters explained. “And I think there are a lot of things that make her opponents feel very uncomfortable.”

One factor is simply her left-handedness. “One of the things she can’t control is that she’s left-handed. There’s always something about playing a left-hander, you get pulled out of the court a little bit differently.”

Technically, Clijsters believes Eala’s backhand may be her most dangerous weapon. “Her forehand is really good. But I actually think her backhand is better. Her backhand is a little bit more of an aggressive shot.”

She highlighted the way Eala combines aggression with variation. “The combination of her aggressive baseline shots, especially on the backhand side, and then the ability to hit heavier spin and make her opponents step back behind the baseline, and then being able to create the angle with her forehand and open up the court, often to her opponent’s backhand, that’s something a lot of players have a really hard time dealing with.”

Clijsters also praised her movement and endurance. “Her footwork is really good. She has great stamina.”

And while still only 19 or 20 years old, Clijsters sees clear mental development. “She’s still very young, but we see the mental growth as well.”

Eala has trained in Spain since her early teens at the Rafa Nadal Academy, and Clijsters believes that environment has played a crucial role.

“She’s been in Spain for many years, I think she moved there when she was 13, training at Rafa’s academy. She’s been around people with a mindset that demands a lot but is also very focused on putting in the work and being respectful.”

Clijsters added, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that she’s getting the results she is.”

However, rapid fame brings challenges. After Eala’s close three-set loss to Alycia Parks at the Australian Open, she faced heavy criticism from some fans, something Rafael Nadal publicly addressed in support of her.

“There are a lot of new things she’s dealing with at such a young age,” Clijsters said. “It’s going to be very important for her to be protected a little bit from the craziness that comes with all of that, and to keep focusing on what she has to do.”

She even likened Eala’s status in her home country to global superstardom.

“She has to deal with this life of being like Michael Jordan in the Philippines. People think it’s just online and in the news, but it’s not easy to deal with changes like that so quickly.”

Clijsters sees a particular competitive edge in Eala’s style. “She reminds me a little bit, she has that kind of pitbull mentality. Dominika Cibulková was a bit like that to me as well.”

What makes that so dangerous? “They have such quick feet, but also the ability, from a defensive position, to move into the court and suddenly become aggressive. That’s a very tough combination to handle on the other side of the net.”

Consistency, she believes, will now be key. “A lot of players know her now, they know her strengths and weaknesses, so she’ll have to make her strengths even stronger and work on the weaker areas.”

The conversation then shifted to the effect of crowd support, particularly relevant given the atmosphere surrounding Eala.

Clijsters admitted that experiences varied from match to match. “There were moments or matches where I was so locked in that it basically felt like I walked into the stadium and walked out without really absorbing much of what was going on.”

But at certain venues, especially the US Open, the energy could be electric. “At the U.S. Open, the crowd is probably the loudest. If you play a night session there, the people sitting down low are right there. You can make eye contact with them. You can hear them.”

She described the interaction as energising.“When they yell things like, ‘Come on, go for an ace,’ and then you hit an ace and look at them, those little things make you connect with the crowd.”

Clijsters found she could actively draw them into the contest. “If I was defending well, if I did the splits to retrieve a ball or chased down a drop shot, people love that effort and that all-out mindset. I was able to use that energy to play better in important moments.”

Far from being distracting, she often found it refreshing. “It gives you energy when you feel a little flat or not fully focused. Sometimes it’s nice to have that interaction that makes you forget the score for a second, or forget that you’re serving for the match. It’s nice to be a little distracted between points, but then fully focused again when you step up to the baseline.”

Interestingly, Clijsters said the crowd itself rarely added pressure. “No, I didn’t feel that,” she said when asked if she worried about disappointing a stadium full of fans.

Instead, the pressure came from within her team. “My trainer was leaving his family to help make me a better tennis player. My coaches, I wanted it for them just as much as I wanted it for myself. If I lost, I felt disappointed for them too.”

Representing her country carried even greater emotional weight. “In my time it was the Fed Cup, now it’s the Billie Jean King Cup. If you lose a match for your country, you take that more to heart. Playing for Belgium, that hurt more than losing a regular tournament match somewhere in the world for yourself.”

For Clijsters, those team losses were the toughest to absorb. “The Fed Cup, the Billie Jean King Cup, and losing for my teammates in big matches, that was the hardest for me.”