Alex Eala received one of the biggest cheers from none other than tennis legend Rafa Nadal following her historic Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) victory at the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico over the weekend.Alex Eala received one of the biggest cheers from none other than tennis legend Rafa Nadal following her historic Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) victory at the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico over the weekend.In a social media post on Sunday, Sept. 7, the retired former No. 1 Spanish player lauded Eala’s achievement for clinching her first-ever WTA title.
“Congrats @AlexEala05 for your first WTA (trophy). I am happy and proud of what you are achieving for yourself and for the Philippines,” wrote Nadal on X (formerly Twitter).
It can be recalled that the Filipina ace started her journey at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where she is an alumnae. She has also been continuously training at the academy in her pro career.
Displaying poise under pressure, Eala recovered from a sluggish start and showed remarkable grit to turn back Hungarian Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the WTA125 tournament.
The win etched Eala’s name into the history books as the first Filipina to win a WTA crown, while also propelling her singles ranking from No. 75 to 61.
Up next for Eala is the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil this week, where she is seeded third in the said WTA250 event.