Alex Eala told one of the biggest impacts she's already having on tennis during historic season

Alex Eala is in the midst of a breakout season on the WTA Tour as arguably the sport's biggest rising star - and she's been told that her impact goes beyond just results.

The 21-year-old, who is from the Philippines, won her maiden WTA 500 title at the Washington Open earlier this month, defeating world number three Jessica Pegula in the final in three sets.

In the process, she became the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour-level singles title.

Before that, she rose to prominence at Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round after a superb victory over reigning champion Iga Swiatek.

She ended 2025 as the WTA world number 53 but has taken her game to even higher levels this year, and is now positioned inside the top 20 of the rankings.

Eala received almost unparalleled levels of support during her run at the Canadian Open earlier this month.

The Wednesday night session of her opening match against Alycia Parks last Wednesday sold out within hours of her schedule being announced, and one of the vendors at the arena in Toronto changed one of their food offerings to cater for Eala's huge Filipino following.

Belinda Bencic, who defeated Eala in the fourth round on Sunday night, addressed the crowd directly in her post-match interview and said it was 'very nice to play in front of you all'.

READ MORE: Belinda Bencic praised for what she said to Filipino crowd after beating Alex Eala at Canadian Open

Fellow tennis stars have echoed Bencic's comments, with Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff among those who have praised Eala and the impact she is having on tennis.

Now, former world number one doubles player Rennae Stubbs, who played professionally between 1992 and 2011, says that the 21-year-old will get 'so many young kids' involved in tennis.

"I am all for the excitement," the Australian said on 'The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast'. "There is nothing more exciting than what we are getting every time she [Eala] walks on the court.

"Caty McNally said to her after the match, 'Thank you for letting me be a part of this!' So even the tennis players that have been out here a long time are realising that this is an atmosphere that you probably have never played in front of, ever, except maybe Serena in New York the last time she played there.

READ MORE: Alex Eala reveals what Caty McNally said to her at the net after Canadian Open win

"That is what you are getting every time you play Alex Eala, so you have to be mentally prepared to deal with that.

"Alex Eala is going to bring so many young kids to the sport of tennis and that is only going to make this sport grow even more."

When is Alex Eala playing next?

Eala has entered the upcoming Cincinnati Masters, where she takes on Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her opening match on Saturday.

There have been concerns from some fans over the 21-year-old's workload, given that she also plays in doubles competitions, but each top player is required to play in all 10 WTA 1000 events and at least six WTA 500 events per season or face ranking point penalties.

The highest-ranked players, such as world number one Aryna Sabalenka and number two Elena Rybakina, do have the luxury of skipping occasional events without their ranking being significantly affected, but that is not the case for the overwhelming majority of the WTA field.

Eala's uncle, Noli, took to Twitter on Sunday to write: "Many are concerned about Alex's schedule, playing big tour events week after week. Fortunately or unfortunately, as a top tier player, Alex is mandated by WTA rules to play all WTA 1000 tournaments plus all Slams in order to total at least 18-20 tournaments per season.

"So Canada and Cincinnati are must-play as well as Beijing and Wuhan Open in addition to some WTA 500s. And this does not even account her desire to play for the Philippines National Team. The price of success."