The Alex Eala Sharapova podcast episode is the feel-good crossover tennis fans have been waiting for.
Filipina tennis star Alex Eala, 21, sat down with her childhood idol Maria Sharapova for the October 7 episode of the five-time Grand Slam champion’s podcast, “Pretty Tough.” Eala — who has climbed to a career-high world No. 18 and become the first Filipino player to capture a WTA singles title, in Washington, D.C. — is also Sharapova’s youngest guest ever.
“This is a dream. This is a dream for me,” Eala confessed as the hour-long conversation began. “It’s very, very mutual,” Sharapova replied, praising the young star’s progress. “You’re our youngest guest, and I don’t think anyone’s going to break that record,” she added.
An Idol She Grew Up Studying
Eala told Sharapova that watching her as a child gave her “a picture of what competing hard looks like” — and most of that picture was Sharapova’s face between points, which Eala remembered as “so serious and almost angry.” She said she now reads her own expressions the same way, treating them as a gauge of how a match is going.
The admiration runs deep. Sharapova has followed Eala’s development for years, once commenting “A star!” on a social media post after Eala’s historic win over then-world No. 3 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon last June. The two had met once before, when Eala was a child — and the old photo of them together resurfaces online with every climb in her ranking.
On ambition, Eala was disarmingly honest: “I have a crush on perfection and I always want to chase it.”
The episode aired just as Eala’s breakthrough season continued, following memorable runs on Wimbledon’s Centre Court and her maiden tour title — proof, fans say, that the girl who once studied her idol’s face between points now has the world studying hers.
