NOVAK ON EALA
23 January 2026
“I saw the other day with Alex Eala. Yeah, that's been a talk, which is understandable."
"There's some players coming from respective countries, like she's coming from Philippines, which is now a big deal. She's been the biggest ever tennis player from that country, which is a big country and there's a big interest.”
“So things like that happen. I mean, you could argue that it was maybe a poor schedule and maybe they could schedule her on a bigger court. Yes, but again, she's so young and she's just coming through. Obviously, the first couple of rounds, the schedule is so packed, the big courts with big names, it's difficult. It's not easy to manage that. But again, it's a good problem to have, to be honest.”
“Let's just imagine if there's a lack of people coming or that stands are empty. That's a bigger problem. I mean, this is great.”
“I think every tournament wants record-breaking attendance and ticket sales, and that's what I've been hearing actually this year and the last couple of years for most of the Slams and tournaments. I mean, it's a good sign," he added. "Obviously, we want more attention, more people coming and wanting to watch the tennis live and follow it and live stream, et cetera.”
"Having too much crowd on this or any other tennis tournament is a very good problem to have. I think there are much worse problems to have.”
“So I don't see any negatives there. Now, it's really about how do you find balance and how do you manage the amount of people that is entering the premises.”
— Novak Djokovic (widely considered the GOAT of Men's Tennis)
Source: Australian Open, GMA News
