Alex Eala admits the extra eyeballs and pressure can weigh “heavy” on her, but the rising star wouldn’t have it any other way.
Since her breakout Miami Open run in 2025, Eala has become one of the most talked-about tennis players in the game. Wherever the 21-year-old plays, there is an army of fans cheering her on, whether that be in person or with watch parties or on social media.
Eala has brought millions of new fans into the sport, and after rising into the top 20, the expectation levels are increasing. Some have hailed her as a future world No 1 and Grand Slam champion, while her detractors try to tear her down.
The left-hander is well aware of her large following, but to her, it is important to be genuine, which is the hill she is prepared to “die on”, so to speak.
She said on Maria Sharapova’s Pretty Tough podcast, “It can get heavy and it definitely comes with pressure. One thing about this whole journey of support that I’ve been getting is I understand the weight that the representation holds and I know that there’s a big audience that looks up to me.
More Alex Eala News
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
“But I guess it forces me to look inward. I’ll die on a hill saying that you need to be genuine. That makes me look at myself and be like, ‘I want to be the best version I can be of myself’, so that I’m genuinely a good example for whoever looks up to me.
“I try to do my best and represent my culture and these people, these lovely people, the way they deserve to be represented. What I learned is that when there’s that many people involved, my experience has become a lot more emotional because of the pressure.
“Because I know how bad I want it, because I know what I represent; all of those things make this journey so much more emotional. And that’s not a bad thing. I’m very in tune with them. It’s nice to experience life like this.
“I think it adds to the foundation of discipline and how driven I already am and you add in all of this love, all this support, and it just becomes like, oh!”
Tennis legend Billie Jean King famously once said, “Pressure is a privilege”. And while some may want to shy away from the limelight, Eala wants to be in the pressure-cooker situations in the hope of delivering in the biggest moments.
Moreover, the world No 19 is proud of the work she has done to get here and feels she is on the right path.
Eala added, “Going back to what Billie Jean King said, pressure is a privilege and I’m able to experience for the first time. I’m in the position where I’m supposed to win. So that’s different, but I like to be in that position. I like competition in general.
“So whether I’m the underdog or I’m the one supposed to win, I love it. I love being there. I had a tough loss here in US Open [to Iva Jovic]. I think I played really well and I had my chances to win. I had a very difficult time after the loss, especially the first few moments after.
“But then as time went by, I just look at my team and I’m so proud of the work that we’ve put in and I know that we’re on a good path. And I think it’s the self-belief. It’s the belief that my team has in me.”
READ NEXT: Alex Eala shares the most important piece of advice Rafael Nadal has ever given her
