Desirae Krawczyk reveals her Filipina mom planned to cook pancit and lumpia for tennis star Alex Eala: “She’s crazy about her”

American tennis player Desirae Krawczyk recently shared a story that many athletes would probably find both hilarious and relatable. The four-time Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles revealed that her Filipina mother is such a huge fan of rising tennis star Alex Eala that she nearly forgot her own daughter was also playing. The moment came up during a tennis interview on The Player’s Box podcast, where Krawczyk appeared alongside fellow American players Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Jennifer Brady. As the conversation turned to Eala’s growing popularity on the WTA Tour, Krawczyk casually dropped a family story that spoke volumes of how excited Filipino fans are about the young tennis star.

Desirae Krawczyk recalls her mom’s Alex Eala fangirl moment

While speaking on the podcast, Krawczyk explained that her mother’s excitement about Eala is very real and sometimes a little too enthusiastic. "My mom’s Filipino and she's like 'I want to go watch Alex Eala play'. She's crazy about Alex," said Krawczyk in the podcast. Her mother had already made plans around Eala’s schedule at the Indian Wells tournament. "She's like 'I'm going to come watch her when she plays on Thursday'," referring to the Indian Wells tournament. There was just one small problem. Krawczyk herself was also playing that day. That is when her mom suddenly realised she had overlooked a rather important detail. "Oh, oh, yes, you too! Yes, yes. I’m going to come watch you too," said Krawczyk's mother.
The funny moment was not the first time Krawczyk had seen her mom fully embrace her inner tennis fan when it came to Eala. "My mom went to the US Open last year. Alex was obviously huge then," recalled Krawczyk, adding, "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. I want a picture with everyone'."
And the fangirl energy did not stop there. According to Krawczyk, when Eala was scheduled to play at Indian Wells, her mother even started planning what she would cook. “She was 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 roles," shared Krawczyk.
Moments like this show why Alex Eala often receives huge support at tournaments even outside the Philippines. Filipino fans frequently turn up in large numbers and cheer loudly for the young star. The same thing happened during her Indian Wells match against Coco Gauff, where Filipino supporters could clearly be heard backing Eala from the stands.



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