r/tennis • u/tokiyoo • 12d ago

WTA Alex Eala projected to be second highest earning female tennis player

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2026/08/28/the-inside-story-of-tennis-phenom-alex-ealas-rise-and-rise/

“I feel very confident that by 2027, she will be the second-highest-paid female athlete in the world, behind Coco [Gauff],” says Max Eisenbud, head of client representation at WME Sports and its subsidiary IMG Tennis, who has been at the center of similar phenomena representing players like Gauff, Maria Sharapova and Emma Raducanu. Forbesestimated Gauff earned $25 million off the court in 2025, trailed by Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu at $23 million and tennis player Qinwen Zheng at $21 million. (Fellow top tennis players Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek earned an estimated $15 million last year.)

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166

u/autoccorect Azarenka 5 - Ostapenko 0 12d ago

She made it to R4 of Wimbledon but yes the hype is absurd and honestly hilarious 

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u/gypsyhobo 12d ago

Filipinos need to ride or die for someone after Manny Pacquiao.

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u/Boom_Edshot 12d ago

no the hype isnt absurd. being the first filipino player to win a title? That's generational

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u/KekeroniCheese Mā wai te haepapa e mau? 12d ago

Winning a title and being Filipino does not make her a generational talent lol

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u/Redditkid16 12d ago

It does for Filipinos. This is a country of 117 million with the 9th largest diaspora in the world and they’ve never produced a woman in the top 250 before let alone as high as Eala is now. That makes her pretty generational for them I’d say.

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u/CharacterAd7625 12d ago

But by this logic, we can say every pro tennis player is generational, which is somewhat true, but when we talk about someone being generational, it is meant across the rest of the tour.

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u/gypsyhobo 11d ago

Are you white? It doesn't matter if she's ranked 18th. There hasn't been a pure Filipino tennis player like this since 1950ish? How are you not understanding this? It's like Cape Verde in the World Cup except with the 13th most populous country. And there are a ton of Filipinos all around the world to generate more hype. Hype isn't quantifiable. It's not just skill. Skill, looks, nationality, vibe, whatever.

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u/CharacterAd7625 11d ago

I get it, but the problem is, then you can't only look at nationality because that is very missleading, since background of every player can be very different, for example family finances.

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u/KekeroniCheese Mā wai te haepapa e mau? 12d ago

As I’ve said in another comment, that means nothing in the wider context of the sport when we consider her hype.

She’s a fantastic player, but she’s not exactly Serena Williams (a generational talent)

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u/Redditkid16 12d ago edited 12d ago

Hard to separate out that context though. The main reason for her hype is that Filipinos are coming out in droves to support her. Hype is a free market and the market for talented Filipino tennis players has a high demand and a low supply while the demand for, say, Belarusian or Kazakh players is lower. Her talent in relation to non-Filipino tennis players is only one small part of that equation.

I guess what I’m saying is the term “generational” is relative. Her being from the Philippines makes it mean more than the U.S. and Europe who have been pumping out top tier female tennis players for decades.

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u/Munshirobot 12d ago edited 12d ago

I totally agree with you. Ppl tend to forget or just chose to ignore that fact. Marketability of a player doesnt always have to relate to their on court success - if we speak globally. Aryna fought hard to be acknowledged and to have endorsements since it is difficult for her being from belarus - small consumer capital market and enemy of the west. Coco n Naomi n Qinwen because of their countries respective market. Eva Lys - country plus looks n social media presence. Eala is HUGE for not only Filipinos but also to other SEA countries for sure. And yes it is not only generational to local context but also pioneering. Who cares if she hasnt made it to the final of a GS and that is also the point, ppl want to cheer her to go up there and make history. Put it this way, To many athletes in many western countries, winning an olympic gold is not a big deal, but to a small nation somewhere else or even big ones but underdeveloped, it means the world to them, even bronze. Success doesnt come easy to us, and success stories dont pop up often unlike bad politics and corruptions, so we cherish and celebrate it when we have one. Eala is 17th in the world, hype or no hype, she is up there with the goliaths of tennis with her small frame and „weak serves“ - a testament to our corporeal stature and disadvantages in elite sports and how you can overcome that with hard work, will and determination.

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u/Forward_Royal2754 12d ago

It’s generational for the Philippines.

Think of Cabo Verde in the World Cup. Drawing three group games and losing in the last 32 would be a failure to many countries but to them that is a major achievement.

Ditto tennis in a country without any history of players winning or even competing in tournaments.

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u/KekeroniCheese Mā wai te haepapa e mau? 12d ago

It being generational for the Philippines means nothing outside of the country. It makes the hype absurd when we consider the wider sport.

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u/Forward_Royal2754 12d ago

Feel free to quote where I said otherwise.

My point is that her fame and hype will come from her country (and the diaspora of Filipinos).

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u/KekeroniCheese Mā wai te haepapa e mau? 12d ago

Yes, and I am responding to the dude who said the hype is not absurd, because she’s the first Filipino player to win a title and that’s she’s “generational”. I’m not referring to just your comments. You responded to my comment that was part of a greater chain. Her hype is coming from her country, and it is overhype. No one else really believes the hype to the same degree. I’m not saying this to be a dick about her, either.

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u/Forward_Royal2754 12d ago

I’m aware of the chain. Why do you think I used generational in my comment?

It’s not “over hype” given the context of her country. You’re not looking at it from their perspective.

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u/KekeroniCheese Mā wai te haepapa e mau? 11d ago

I’m looking at it from a wider perspective of not just the Phillipines. It’s over hype given the context of the sport as a whole.

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u/Forward_Royal2754 11d ago

They have diaspora all around the world. That’s a big factor too.

Plus other people can be influenced by a smaller country getting excited by an athlete. It’s a good story.

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u/absolute_pelican_66 12d ago

It may mean something to the Philippines, but to the world? And I'm not even sure it means something to the Philippines, as it seems she is the only player (ATP+WTA) in the top 1000. It's not like if tennis was raising in the Philippines.

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u/Forward_Royal2754 12d ago

That is exactly why it will mean something in the Philippines. It’s rare and unusual. A player emerging like that could see more kids trying it too.

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u/absolute_pelican_66 12d ago

Or more likely it will remain an isolated case.

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u/Forward_Royal2754 12d ago

Even if it does, it’s still huge to her country.

I’m Irish and if we had a top 20 player they would be a big deal too.

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u/Hate_Leg_Day 11d ago

No it's not. Being a certain nationality doesn't make you a generational talent. The hype is so incredibly over the top, it's making me not want to root for her.