74% OF THE VOTE! Alex Eala Mania CRUSHES World No.1 Rybakina

Alex Eala just got 74% of the vote in the WTA's Star of the Hard Court Swing poll, leaving US Open champion and world No.1 Elena Rybakina at 19%. Coco Gauff? Around 1%. Is this a fan army hijacking a harmless poll, or proof that Alex Eala has become the biggest star in women's tennis? In this video, we break down the WTA fan vote controversy that has tennis Twitter divided. Critics called Eala fans "shameless" and the result "not credible." But when you look at the crowds, the numbers, and a surprising NBA parallel, a very different story appears. What we cover: The WTA poll results: Eala 74%, Rybakina 19%, Swiatek 4%, Gauff and Sabalenka around 1% Why Rybakina's US Open title and world No.1 ranking still lost to a WTA 500 champion Alex Eala's 2026 breakthrough: beating Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and becoming the first Filipina to win a WTA title in Washington The Yao Ming All-Star vote and what it teaches us about star power The thousand-plus fans pressed against the glass in Washington before Eala played a single match Why Steve Johnson, John Isner and Sam Querrey warned the WTA not to fine Eala for skipping the China Open for the Asian Games What comes next: the Singapore Open, a possible Mirra Andreeva rematch, and the Asian Games Alex Eala, the Rafa Nadal Academy product from the Philippines, is now world No.18, and her Filipino fan base is changing what stardom means on the WTA Tour. Is she the next face of women's tennis, or is this all hype? Who would YOU have voted for? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe for more WTA stories on Alex Eala, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and the next generation of women's tennis. Poll figures reflect results reported by Tennis365 on September 22, 2026, when about 3,700 votes had been counted. #AlexEala #WTA #Tennis