WHOLE different sport, but even Alex Eala’s tennis can’t escape the Philippines’ obsession for basketball.
Her “home court” growing up? Half basketball court, half tennis. Two hoops standing near the baseline.
The ground? Crushed seashells, sand, and clay. A little chaotic, but legendary.
READ Alex Eala falls out of Top 30 after Miami rankings shake-up
“I’ll bring you to this shell court,’” Eala told Jess Pegula, Madison Keys, Jenny Brady, and Des Krawczyk in the Player's Box Podcast. "Its surface is made from crushed seashells, sand, and clay. It feels like clay."
She continued: "And this club I grew up in. It's half basketball. It explains my playing style, cause if I move back I hit the pole.”
In the Philippines, basketball courts are everywhere — in streets, schools, barangays, even tiny alleyways. You can’t escape them. You can’t ignore them.
And apparently, they sneaked into Eala's tennis game as well.
“She takes the ball so early, so I was like, 'What is going on?' Now we know it’s the basketball hoops,” said Pegula, who beat Eala in the Miami semifinal last year.
Eala didn’t just learn to hit around them; she made the most of the situation and, faced with no choice, learned to take the ball early. It taught him about quick reactions, and thinking fast on her feet.
And another 'Alex Eala' moment for the American world No. 5?
“The crowd,” Pegula added. “I got to experience that in Miami, and I was playing at 'home' and I was like, ‘Why is nobody cheering for me?’”
For Eala, a little chaos is normal as a whole nation stands behind her.
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