Alexandra Eala has no shortage of support as she is set to take on Jasmine Paolini in a fourth-round clash at Wimbledon. The Filipino player has enjoyed massive support from her fans, who have filled the seats at whatever venue she has been in action. Ahead of her Wimbledon clash, fans in her home country assembled in numbers to show support.

Fans in the Philippines have organized a watch party so all Eala fans can come and watch their favorite player ply her trade at SW19. The Philsports Arena, with a seating capacity of 10,000, is the venue for this event, and with entry being free, one can expect the indoor arena to be filled to the brim with proud Filipinos cheering on their home player. The arena is primarily used for other sports, such as basketball and volleyball, but the Philippine Sports Commission recognized the significance of the moment and opened its doors.

Coming from a country with no known tennis heritage, Eala reached the Top 100 rankings last year, becoming the first player from her country to do so. With her win over Iga Swiatek in the third round of Wimbledon, she became the first player from her country to reach the second week of a Grand Slam.

Filipino crowds have massively increased at tennis events since Eala’s arrival, often taking over matches. Last year, when Eala was in action at the Madrid Open, she had a huge home crowd supporting her, even though the event was far away from her home. During her match against Swiatek on Center Court, even a neutral crowd was cheering her on, pushing her to cross the finish line.

However, even though she might have the crowd support, Eala’s start against Paolini was not the best on Center Court. However, the Filipino player has clawed her way back into the contest.

Alexandra Eala Locked in Fierce Battle With Jasmine Paolini

Eala did not have a great start to the match, getting broken early and falling 1-4 behind in the first set. She rallied back well, breaking the Italian’s serve to take it to 4-5. However, the Filipino’s serve faltered once again, giving the Italian player the first set. Eala started the second set well, getting the early break, but once again, her serve let her down, with Paolini breaking back and leveling the score at 3-3.

The next two games were crucial for Eala, as she got another break of serve in the seventh game to go 4-3 up. But, just like the rest of the match, she was down 0-40 in the next service game, and it looked like Paolini would break back once again. However, Eala showed her control over her shots and executed her serve placement to hold to 5-3. Even though Paolini held for 5-4, the Filipino player had the momentum, serving it out at 6-4.

Eala’s serve has often been the point of criticism, as the Filipino player does not have a serve above 100 mph. Still, she uses her lefty angle and lack of pace to disrupt her opponents’ rhythm, something Iga Swiatek described as “tricky”. Even though a powerful serve is needed on grass courts, Eala has tasted grass-court success in her career, winning a WTA 125 event in Birmingham and reaching the Eastbourne final last year. In the grass-court event in Berlin, she beat the likes of Donna Vekic, Elena Rybakina, and Elina Svitolina, showing that she had the quality to play high-level tennis despite technical and power deficiencies in her style.