Alex Eala has flown into Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila countless times in her life—returning from youth tennis tournaments as a kid, flying back from the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain as a teenager, or just coming home to the Philippines during WTA Tour’s off-season. But the 21-year-old phenom realized just how much her life had changed when she traveled there in July. A live band and thousands of fans greeted her in the terminal, and for the next week, everywhere she went was pandemonium, requiring a presidential security team to escort her to each new venue.

“You have brought such pride to the Philippines,” president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a speech honoring her at Malacañang Palace in the nation’s capital. “You show the greatest, best qualities of Filipinos.”

That “Eala mania” spread this summer to North America, where thousands of Filipino fans have waved flags and cheered her on at each WTA tour stop. In Washington, D.C., where she claimed the first singles title of her young pro career last month, D.C. Open owner Mark Ein said that more than 80% of ticket requests the tournament had received were for when Eala was playing.

“I understand who looks up to me and what I represent,” Eala tells Forbes a few days before the start of the 2026 U.S. Open in New York. “I think this whole experience of being this big representation of the Philippines has really made me be self-aware, and it really makes me want to be the best version of myself.”

And more practically, she says, “I don’t think for me personally it would be beneficial to shy away from the attention I’m getting or keep it in a box or be in denial.”

After all, it’s heady stuff being a national hero. And as boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, her countryman, has understood for many decades, it pays well, too. In addition to the $1.7 million in prize money Eala has earned so far in 2026, Forbes estimates her off-court earnings have exceeded $5 million over the past 12 months (before taxes and fees to agents and managers), much of which comes from companies based in the Philippines. Given her trajectory on the court—she is currently ranked No. 18 in the world—Eala’s earning potential could be exponentially higher in the years to come.

“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........

© Forbes