Coco Gauff Compares Rising Tennis Star Alex Eala's Impact in the Philippines to Manny Pacquiao

Tennis star Coco Gauff has high praise for the profound impact Alex Eala is making on sports in the Philippines, comparing her immense popularity to that of legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao.

It was famously said that the crime rate in the Philippines dropped to zero when eight-weight world champion Pacquiao fought, as the entire nation paused to watch his bouts. Now, 21-year-old Eala is fast becoming the next big thing in Filipino sports following a breakout year on the WTA Tour, which included winning her second WTA 125 singles title at Birmingham in June and claiming her maiden WTA 500 title at the Mubadala DC Open. Throughout her matches worldwide, dedicated Filipino fans and flags have been consistently on show.

Eala was nearly set to face Gauff in the fourth round at the US Open, but she narrowly lost out to Iva Jovic, who advanced to face the world No 4 instead.

Asked if she can relate to the immense pressure Eala faces from an increasingly expectant fan base in her homeland, Gauff explained: “No, I can't at all, because she's the first Filipino player to break a lot of the barriers that she's done, especially on the female side. When you speak of athletes from the Philippines, she's doing similar things to what Manny Pacquiao is doing for her country.”

Gauff added, “I'm lucky to be from the US, where we had a lot of icons to look up to, people who have already broken down doors for me to be here where I am. I can't really empathise in that aspect. The only way I can is maybe just the hype of everyone expecting you to win every single match.”

With her meteoric rise from the Nadal academy, Eala has climbed to No 18 in the world, marking the highest-ever ranking for a South Asian female player. Later this year, she is set to play a highly anticipated homecoming match against Indonesia's Janice Tjen in Bulacan on December 8, with the clash expected to draw a sell-out crowd of 55,000.

“From the outside looking in, she has more pressure,” Gauff concluded. “I have a lot of respect for her and what she's doing, but I can't really empathise. I feel like she has more pressure than I do.”