Putang ina!!!!! Alex Eala has taken the Tennis world by storm! Over the last year, Alexandra “Alex” Eala has been a sports and popular cultural phenomenon. The 21-year-old Filipino tennis star has sparked an unprecedented wave of national pride and a domestic sports boom for Philippine tennis.  In this TFAL episode, Gerlie, Ryan (out of retirement!), and Joe discuss Eala-mania. Listen as they discuss the rise Alex Eala as a tennis star, her upbringing, and how this has excited Filipinos around the world. Of course, we go into the very fun topics like tennis etiquette and all of the intra-ethnic tensions this phenomenon has exposed within and between the Filipino and Filipino American community.

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What do you think about Eala-mania? Let us know by emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.