AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2026

Alexandra Eala

Press Conference

Monday, 19 January 2026

A. PARKS/A. Eala

0-6, 6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Alex, a tough one out there but a great fight. Can you give us your thoughts on the match and your performance today.

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yeah, I was at the front, like you said. I think it's only normal that with a loss comes disappointment and being upset. But then again it's another opportunity for me to take and learn and grow as a player, and yeah...

Q. The crowd that you had today, I don't know if you expected that or when you saw the schedule that you thought Court 6 was not enough for your crowd. What did that feel like for you as a player to see how much support you had and how much excitement you had from so many thousands of people at the Australian Open for you today?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yeah, it was so heart-warming. That's one of the things that makes a loss like today a little bit harder is I know a lot of people were rooting for me.

But then again Alycia played really well. And you know I just hope that the support continues with the losses along with the wins. I think that would really touch me.

But then again, the fact that everyone came out and really squeezed into that cozy court, I really appreciate it. I felt so loved. Even when I was 5-2 down in the third, you know, still felt the love.

So I'm really appreciative and super thankful, yeah.

Q. I think such a big crowd for you. Does it help you during the match or does it put more pressure on you? And is it something you still need to learn to deal with?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yeah, it's a process to take it all in. I think this week definitely there were elements that were a bit overwhelming, especially during my practices. I didn't expect that many people to be there. So it's a learning process, like anything.

You know, losses is part of the learning process. The trainings are part of a learning process. So I'm just trying to take it in.

I'm still young, 20, so learning how to deal with all of this attention, but then at the same time being grateful, yeah.

Q. I just wanted to ask what it's been like in the off-season with the increased amount of attention you've gotten, what kind of opportunities have you had to do, things like that, compared to this time last year, perhaps?

ALEXANDRA EALA: That's a good question.

In the off-season not much changed. I would say in terms, I think because off-season in the end is training, so the training was hard (laughter). The training was intense.

One highlight of the off-season was getting to compete in the SEA Games. I had so much fun with my teammates. And it was a safe space for me to be more extroverted and enjoy myself.

Q. It was hard for me to see but I believe you walk out on the court with the headphones on, is that correct?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Mmm-hmm.

Q. Do you do that just to block out all that's going on around you so that you can get to the court and be more focused, and then once you take the headphones off then you can absorb the atmosphere?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yes, I think it definitely helps. I listen to a lot of music, not just for tennis purposes. I listen to a lot of music in general. And it can get quite loud, especially when you're walking into a court like that.

Yeah, you can really snuggle with some people over there and they start to talk to you. Sometimes they don't understand you are in the zone. So I feel like headphones gives of gives that message, yeah.

Q. Have you had any conversations with tournament organizers about your popularity here? They say, Next time we'll put you in a huge stadium, we didn't know. Because it seems a disconnect between the demand and the supply.

ALEXANDRA EALA: I don't know. I have no say in the courts that I'm put on. I'm just here to do my thing. Whatever court they put me on, I go and compete. That's what I did today.

Q. They didn't talk to you and say, Wow, you're selling...

ALEXANDRA EALA: I didn't hear any comments like that, yeah.

Q. How do you balance I guess staying locked into tactics while soaking in what this means for, I guess, Filipino tennis in general? Especially with the vocal support of the crowd today, what learnings would you take on for tomorrow's doubles match?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to repeat the question. That was a great question. Sorry, I was kind of like...

Q. How do you balance sort of staying locked into tactics? Obviously you mentioned earlier about the headphones, the focus side. But also soaking in this moment on what it means for Filipino tennis actually being on the world stage and with a visible and vocal support with the community. With the doubles match tomorrow, what learnings would you take on from today to put on to sort of like a game plan for tomorrow's match?

ALEXANDRA EALA: I'm big on compartmentalizing. So I think there's a time for each of those things. I think walking into the court and right before or during the match is not the time for you to look at the 'big picture'.

Like, I've done so many matches in my life. And although it's different now because it's a Grand Slam, it's my first main draw in Australia, it is just another match. I have to treat it as so.

So I have certain routines I do, warmups when I'm there. It's such a competitive mindset that you're not thinking about what this does for the Philippines. You're thinking about what do I need to do in the next point.

And then, of course, there are moments after the match when you walk off and you realize there's so many people and they give so much love. Then you reflect on it, and it helps cushion the loss, I guess. Depends how you look at it.

But there are certain moments when I'm with my family and we talk about kind of how much we have grown and the journey leading up to this. Those are the types of moments you can look back and say, Wow, there's a lot of people today.

I guess the learning for doubles is just, I mean, it's hard to take the learnings from singles and go to doubles. Then I feel like there were a couple of things I could work on today that maybe tomorrow will be improved on. Yeah, thank you.

Q. Are you aware where the cities are where the biggest Filipino crowds have been? Do you know where to expect them from each tournament to the next one?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yeah. This was definitely one of the bigger Filipino turnouts. Also New York was huge. It was tough because it also depends what court you're on, you know, that you feel the noise and things.

I would say the top two so far have been Melbourne and New York, yep.

Q. If you look at the numbers on YouTube for the pre-tournament press conferences, how many people watch yours, it is like 170,000.

ALEXANDRA EALA: Okay.

Q. And then like everyone else is like under 40,000, Djokovic, Alcaraz.

ALEXANDRA EALA: Oh, okay.

Q. You are, like, in a league of your own?

ALEXANDRA EALA: I wouldn't say so.

Q. And I am just wondering if you have a sense of how notable and how surprising and big you are? You know, there's numbers that can prove this. It's not just my opinion.

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yeah, I guess, I haven't really thought about it. I haven't seen those numbers. So, then again, like I said in the last press conference, taking everything with a spoonful of gratitude.

I'm nowhere near the leagues of, of course, the greats, Djokovic, and then now Sabalenka and Alcaraz and all of these people. I have so much respect for them. I think everyone does.

But yeah, I like to think that I have a following for a reason. I like to think that the impact that I've had and the platform that I've built has a positive effect on a certain demographic and my demographic.

Yeah so, I mean, I guess this is one of the moments that I can reflect on what this means for Philippine tennis. I'm the only Filipina in the draw this year. I'm the only Filipina that's ever been in the draw, I think. So there are positives to take away.

Like I said, so much gratitude and super thankful, yeah.