Rennae Stubbs Claims Alexandra Eala’s Fans ‘Don’t Understand Tennis Etiquette’ After Her Canadian Open Exit

Rennae Stubbs believes the new fanbase, that is, the supporters of Alexandra Eala, lack tennis etiquette. Her army of Filipino fans flocks to the stadiums wherever Eala is playing.

Their happiness knew no bounds when Eala beat defending champion Iga Swiatek to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon, becoming the first Filipino in the Open Era to do so. Next at the Citi Open, the 21-year-old reached her career’s second tour-level final, ending it in her favor by beating Jessica Pegula.

That win made Eala the first player from the Philippines to win a tour-level title. Even though Pegula is American, Eala was the crowd favorite.

After that win, Eala flew to Toronto for the Canadian Open and reached the fourth round, only to lose to Belinda Bencic, who later handed the walkover to Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals. Stubbs watched Eala’s defeat to the Swiss ace and said Filipino fans need to improve their tennis etiquette.

I would say 80% of the crowd were for Alex Eala, maybe more. When you go up against a player like that, you have to mentally prepare yourself for the onslaught of fans. [Andrea] Petkovic and the commentators were saying they [Eala fans] don’t really understand the sport of tennis yet, because they are so new to it because of the phenomenon of Alex Eala. They are screaming at times in the middle of the point, they are getting very excited.

Rennae Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

Stubbs, however, did not criticize Eala’s supporters. She rather believes that Eala will bring young kids to the sport and “that is only going to make this sport grow” more.

So they would scream out in the middle of the point or say stuff between first and second serves, and it was like, ‘Oh my god, they don’t understand the etiquette of tennis,’ and I am all for the excitement. There is nothing more exciting than what we are getting every time she walks on the court.

Rennae Stubbs added

Eala is gearing up for the Cincinnati Open, which starts on August 13. She will be making her debut in the tournament.

Greg Rusedski says Alexandra Eala reminds him of Gustavo Kuerten

Alexandra Eala‘s fanbase reminded Greg Rusedski of the passionate fans of Gustavo Kuerten, the Brazilian tennis great who won three Grand Slam titles and defined the tennis culture in the country. And now Joao Fonseca is doing a similar thing, as fans from Brazil are flocking to the stadiums to cheer for their compatriot wherever he is competing.

The other player that it reminds me of, with a country that doesn’t have a massive history of tennis, was Gustavo Kuerten. When he went out and won the French Open three times, he was as big as the footballers in his country. And when Brazilians play, now all of a sudden with [Joao] Fonseca, you see the crowds coming in… but you gotta look at Eala-mania – this is totally different!

Greg Rusedski said during the Off Court with Greg podcast

Fonseca was also last seen in action at the Canadian Open, where his run ended at the hands of Ben Shelton in the fourth round. Shelton, also the defending champion, will face compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the final.

The 19-year-old will next be competing at the Cincinnati Masters to chase his career’s first Big Title. Fonseca has so far won two titles, last year’s Argentina Open and the Swiss Indoors.

Eala, on the other hand, has played two finals, which includes the title clash of the 2025 Eastbourne International, losing the match to Maya Joint. The only time she made the semifinal of a WTA 1000 event was at the 2025 Miami Open.

Also read: Elena Rybakina Proud of Fighting Spirit After Surviving Naomi Osaka Scare in Toronto