Grand Slam champion reveals why her mum is ‘crazy’ about Alex Eala
Doubles Grand Slam champion Desirae Krawczyk has revealed her mum is “crazy” about Alex Eala as she opened up about their shared Filipino heritage.
Rising WTA Tour star Eala has surged up the women’s game over the past twelve months and has proven a trailblazer for tennis in her country, becoming the first woman from her nation to reach the top 100 of the WTA Rankings last March.
The 20-year-old has since become the first Filipina to reach a WTA Tour final, doing so at the Eastbourne International last June, and became the first player from her nation to win a Grand Slam main draw singles match at the US Open last September, beating Clara Tauson in round one.
Eala is now set for her latest breakthrough off the back of her maiden Indian Wells campaign, with the 20-year-old projected to crack the top 30 of the WTA Rankings for the first time.
Among those who know Eala well is Krawczyk, a regular on the WTA doubles tour — and a four-time mixed doubles Grand Slam champion.
The 32-year-old was born in California and represents the US on tour, though she has Filipino heritage through her mum, who is originally from the country.
Speaking on The Player’s Box Podcast, which she co-hosts with Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Jennifer Brady, Krawczyk joked that her mum had split allegiances when both she and Eala were in Dubai Tennis Championships action last month.
Krawczyk said: “My mum’s Filipino, and she’s like: ‘Oh, I want to go and watch Alex Eala play, like oh my gosh, I want to watch.’
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“She’s crazy about Alex. She’s like: ‘I’m going to come and watch her when she plays on Thursday,’ and I was like: ‘Mum, I’m going to be playing on Thursday.’
“She’s like: ‘Oh yes, you too, yes, yes — I’m going to come and watch you too.’ I was like: ‘What? Mum, what are you doing?'”
Krawczyk then revealed that her mum had in fact previously offered to cook Filipino food for Eala — an offer the 20-year-old was keen to accept.
“My mum went to the US Open last year,” added the doubles star.
“Alex was obviously huge then, and she was like: ‘Oh my gosh, I want to see Alex, maybe I’ll get a picture with her, but I also want a picture with Jenny [Brady], I want a picture with everyone.’
“I was like: ‘Ok mum, let’s take it one at a time.’
“But then obviously when she knew Alex was playing at Indian Wells, she’s like: ‘I’m going to make her pancit’, which is a famous noodle dish in the Philippines, and then Lumpia, which is like these egg rolls.
“And I told Alex about it, and she’s like: ‘Oh my gosh, I would love that’. And if I tell my mum, my mum will probably make like three big bowls of noodles, so I don’t know if I should give it to Alex.”
After her Indian Wells campaign was ended in the fourth round by Linda Noskova, Eala is set to return to action at the Miami Open this coming week.
The 20-year-old faces some significant pressure at the tournament, with the star defending 390 ranking points from her run to the semi-final twelve months ago.
Krawczyk will also return to action in Miami, following the conclusion of her women’s and mixed doubles campaigns in Indian Wells.
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