TORONTO — They were lined up at least six or seven deep on the one open side of a small practice court in hopes of getting a glimpse of the woman taking tennis by storm.
Dyan Castillejo, a travelling Filipino journalist and former tennis player, stood on a small grandstand, signing autographs and taking pictures with a loud and proud community that showed up in full force.
The fact that 21-year-old Alexandra Eala never actually showed up for her pre-match hit on Wednesday, opting instead to take some shots on Centre Court, did nothing to diminish the enthusiasm of those gathered behind Sobeys Stadium at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
For those in the GTA's large Filipino community (the population was listed at over 270,000 in the 2021 census), Eala Mania has been building for weeks. On Wednesday night, for Eala's first match after her historic DC Open title run earlier this week, it was, in Castillejo's words, "a super, wild Filipino crowd. The loudest I have ever heard ... It felt (like) it was in the Philippines ... Incredible."
The roar from the rare early-tournament, sellout crowd of 10,000-plus following match point of Eala's three-set win over Alycia Parks surely could be heard across York University's sprawling campus on the northern edge of Toronto. Eala soaked it all in, putting her hands in a heart shape to pay tribute to another special crowd in a year full of special moments.
"She's being branded as the next (Manny) Pacquiao," said Danilo (Sani) Baluyot, the executive director of next week's Taste of Manila event in Toronto, an annual tradition in the northwest part of the city that is home to many Filipinos, not far from the tennis stadium.
"Because she's young and she has a lot of attention, she has this charm to the community. We follow and we support. Moving forward with this National Bank Open tournament, every time she wins, all these people will follow."
The scenes on Centre Court on Wednesday, in the eyes of some longtime Canadian tennis watchers, rivalled some of the most electric moments in recent tournament history — such as Victoria Mboko's title last year in Montreal, Bianca Andreescu's championship run in 2019 in Toronto, and Denis Shapovalov's stunner over Rafael Nadal in 2017 in La Belle Province.
The one difference, of course, is those achievements all featured Canadians.
Wednesday, like the World Cup here in June and July, was a showcase for the multiculturalism of Toronto — with a community showing up in big numbers to support potentially the biggest Filipino sports star since Pacquiao was knocking out opponents in the boxing ring.
"It's the kind of noise that accompanies a Grand Slam win and this is just the second round here in Toronto," play-by-play man Mark Petchey said on the WTA Tour world television feed after Eala's win. "The one and only, the extraordinary Alex Eala doing things in tennis that just seem out of this world."
Pacquiao called Eala "our new champion" in an X post this week. In many cities, the large Filipino diaspora has made its presence felt at Eala's matches.
In Toronto, a few young men wore T-shirts with the words: "Fight. Believe. Represent." A couple, holding their young child, carried a sign with a Filipino flag with the words: "Past my bedtime, but cheering for you Alex." Another man, wearing a Blue Jays hat, raised Canadian and Filipino flags for a picture in front of a giant tennis ball.
Inside the stadium, at least a dozen large Filipino flags were draped over railings in boxes and the upper deck.
"The one thing about Alex that everybody's proud about is that she acknowledges being Filipino in every event," said Rosemarie Ami Seaborn, who works with Baluyot on the Taste of Manila. "She will correct your question and say 'I think what you should ask me is if I'm proud of being Filipino and being here.' She has embraced it. I think she's really proud of what's happening."
As she should be.
Her title in Washington, featuring wins over Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Canada's Leylah Fernandez, made Eala the first Filipino woman to capture a WTA tournament. The left-hander is now ranked 20th in the world.
Not bad for a young woman who started playing tennis on painted-over basketball courts in a country where her chosen sport, which can be very costly for aspiring pros, has struggled to gain traction before Eala. She moved to Spain at age 13 to train at Rafael Nadal's academy, a defining step in her journey to the elite ranks of women's tennis.
Along the way, she has captured the imagination of Filipinos at home and around the world.
"What Canadians and even the world is witnessing is what we know as the Filipino Bayanihan spirit. It refers to our communal spirit, our unity, our co-operation in helping neighbours," said Canada's Minister of Women and Gender Equality Rechie Valdez, who became the first Filipino Canadian woman to be a member of parliament when she won her Mississauga-Streetsville riding just west of Toronto in 2021.
"Right now, Alex is our bayani, which basically means our national hero. What you're all witnessing is what we have as the Filipino community. As we watch Alex elevate herself through tennis, we all have the opportunity to cheer her on."
The response in Toronto to Eala was no surprise to Valdez or other community leaders.
Because the Philippines is not an international sporting power — the country has won just nine Summer Olympic medals since 2000 — many Canadian sports fans have more familiarity with sporting cultures in other Asian countries.
But when someone from the country gives Filipinos reason to puff out their chests, the enthusiasm is off the charts.
"This is just who we are," Valdez said in a telephone interview from Charlottetown while taking a break from ministry work in Atlantic Canada.
"We get behind anyone that is succeeding. When one of us rises, all of us rise."
Eala is also helping the WTA Tour rise.
A podcast hosted by Pegula and fellow American tennis star Madison Keys gained more than 10,000 new subscribers after the Washington final. Eala was a previous guest on the show.
"Filipino fans," Pegula said this week at the NBO, "are insane."
Coco Gauff had similar feelings after facing Eala earlier this year in Dubai, which also has a large Filipino community.
"I think I said this before, I'll say it again: I think the demographic that Alex is bringing to the sport of tennis is so great. I think all of us should really embrace that, because we're all benefiting from it," Gauff said after her second-round win this week.
"... Just to see a nation of people who maybe don't always feel represented in this sport really see themselves out there, I think it's incredibly inspiring and makes it fun for me to go out there and just play."
The pure joy exhibited by Eala on Toronto's biggest tennis court was something to savour for her rapidly expanding fanbase.
She mixed Tagalog with English when addressing the crowd.
"There are so many Filipinos in the crowd tonight. So many flags. Thank you," an ecstatic Eala said over loud cheers.
"I am eternally grateful. I just came off Washington so I really feel like this is a celebration."
After a doubles loss with the legendary Venus Williams that was played on Centre Court on Thursday due to Eala's immense popularity, she'll be back on the same court Friday night for her next singles match against American Caty McNally.
When Eala was confirmed for the Friday night session on Thursday, tickets started disappearing in a hurry off the venue map. Fewer than 20 remained early Friday morning.
She'll play in the second match on Friday night after Gauff finishes her third-rounder, which starts at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT (Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+).
"Filipinos in the diaspora, they show up every time someone is carrying that flag," Seaborn said. "Whoever is that person, whether it's Alex Eala or Pacquiao. It's all the same. We've got it in our house, in our living room. We invite all our friends and relatives. We eat food, it's a festival. Then everyone comes to the game and cheers."
