​'The biggest honor': Alex Eala reacts to fans planning to name their daughters after her and her best friends

HONG KONG — Tennis in the Philippines may not command the massive followings of basketball or boxing, but over the last two years on the professional tour, Alexandra Eala’s reach has constantly grown far and wide.

During the Philippine Women’s Open in Manila last January 2026, the stands at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center drew a distinct generation of fans: tennis enthusiasts named after legends like Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Simona Halep, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova.

Among them was a pregnant fan sharing that she was considering naming her daughter after the Filipino tennis ace and her best friends.

She was weighing two prospective pairings: Alexandra Iva or Alexandra Zeynep.

Ten months later, at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, Eala was met with the anecdote.

The World No. 17 was visibly delighted and instantly quipped that she could not wait to share the story with her close friends, America's Iva Jovic and Turkey's Zeynep Sönmez.

Asked how she felt about the gesture, Eala reflected: “I think that's one of the biggest honors ever, because the way I see it, having children is the biggest thing you're ever going to do in your life and I feel so honored.”

“I’ve met maybe one or two people who have approached me and said that and it's, wow! It just makes me want to hug them and say thank you for the support.”

For Eala, the gesture runs deeper than athletic success, showing her that “people really see me for who I am.”

While winning matches remains the ultimate goal, Eala emphasized that who she is matters far more than how she plays.

Eala advances to the quarterfinals after defeating Czech Republic's Tereza Valentova, 6-4, 7-6(7), on Thursday, November 5, 2026.

The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open marks Eala's final stop of the 2026 season before taking a brief off-season break ahead of her 2027 campaign kick-off in January. — BAP, GMA News