Lifestyle & Sport
After her run ended in the semi-finals of the 2026 ASB Classic against Wang Xinyu, Alexandra Eala created an incredibly emotional moment that moved the entire Auckland stadium. Instead of simply running over to hug her parents as she usually does, Eala, still catching her breath, pointed up to the stands and signalled for the organisers to activate the kiss cam immediately. The 20-year-old cleverly “set up” the moment so the kiss cam switched straight to her parents, Mike Eala and Rizza Maniego-Eala, who were seated in the crowd. Surprised at first, they then burst into laughter and hugged each other tightly in pure happiness right there in the stands. Standing in the middle of the court, Eala smiled through her tears, raised her hands to form a heart towards her parents and shouted 11 words that sent the stadium into a thunderous round of applause, with fans loudly chanting “Awww!” all around.
After her run ended in the semi-finals of the 2026 ASB Classic against Wang Xinyu, Alexandra Eala created an incredibly emotional moment that moved the entire Auckland stadium. Instead of simply running over to hug her parents as she usually does, Eala, still catching her breath, pointed up to the stands and signalled for the organisers to activate the kiss cam immediately.
The 20-year-old cleverly “set up” the moment so the kiss cam switched straight to her parents, Mike Eala and Rizza Maniego-Eala, who were seated in the crowd. Surprised at first, they then burst into laughter and hugged each other tightly in pure happiness right there in the stands.
Standing in the middle of the court, Eala smiled through her tears, raised her hands to form a heart towards her parents and shouted 11 words that sent the stadium into a thunderous round of applause, with fans loudly chanting “Awww!” all around.
