In this episode of Served, Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim sit down with the "Pride of the Philippines," Alex Eala, to peel back the curtain on her meteoric rise. Alex gets incredibly candid about her journey, from training with her grandfather on basketball courts to moving to the Rafa Nadal Academy at age 13 and the surreal experience of becoming a national hero.
Producer Mike and Jon Wertheim also talk about some big headlines coming out of the first week in Miami: questions swirl after Naomi Osaka hints at retirement, Iga Świątek fires her coach Wim Fissette, and Carlos Alcaraz loses to Sebastian Korda in the third round. Also, Wimbledon has announced that some courts will have electronic video review available for the 2026 tournament.
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Theme music composed, produced, and mixed by Dan Whittemore. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwhit.wav/
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction & Teaser
0:54 Welcome to Served
2:49 Sebastian Korda stuns Carlos Alcaraz in Miami
5:31 Naomi Osaka’s retirement rumors & Talia Gibson’s rise
10:06 Wimbledon’s new video review technology for 2026
13:29 Iga Swiatek parts ways with coach Wim Fissette
19:37 Interview: Alex Eala joins the show
20:54 Reflecting on the 2025 Miami Open breakout
23:52 Representing the Philippines & dealing with fame
30:45 Backstory: Training with Grandpa & moving to Spain at 13
35:16 First interactions with Rafa Nadal
37:21 The Filipino fan base
46:13 Dream matchups
48:03 Finding happiness through progress on court
50:30 Roddick & Wertheim react to Eala interview
54:02 Breaking the "Country Club" tennis stereotype
59:02 Closing thoughts
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