Alex Eala receives an invitation to compete in the Miami Open

15.03.2021

Fifteen-year-old Filipino tennis player Alexandra Eala has received an invitation to compete in the qualifying round of the Miami Open.

Fifteen-year-old Filipino tennis player Alexandra Eala has received an invitation to compete in the qualifying rounds of the Miami Open , a WTA 1000 tournament that will be held from March 22 to April 4 at the impressive Hard Rock Stadium. The player, who trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, will continue to demonstrate her progress among the elite of professional tennis after having demonstrated her talent at an early age, achieving numerous successes on the Junior circuit.

Toni Nadal, Director of the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, gave a very positive evaluation of this announcement: “This invitation for Alex is great news. It shows that her level of play is very high and that her progress in recent years has been spectacular. It will be an incredible experience for a 15-year-old girl, but I think she can do well; I have a lot of confidence in her.”

At just 12 years old, Alex Eala began to show signs of his great talent by winning the Under-14 category of the prestigious Le Petit As tournament. Later, and after joining the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in 2018, he made history for the Philippines, qualifying the country for the Under-14 World Championship for the first time since 1993. After this collective success, Eala carefully prepared his participation in the US Open junior , where he was able to develop a high level of tennis, passing the qualifying phase and accessing the main draw of a Grand Slam of this category for the first time.

Her great successes in 2019, which included the doubles title at the Orange Bowl , earned her a place in the world’s top 10 junior players and she started 2020 competing in the main draw of a junior Grand Slam for the first time. At the 2020 Australian Open, Alex Eala achieved another new milestone by lifting the doubles title after an immaculate tournament that she won partnering with Priska Nugroho. After the break due to the pandemic, Alex reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros in June , also rising to second place in the junior rankings, a circuit that she has been combining in 2020 with her leap to the professional circuit, where she has been burning stages achieving victories of great merit against players located in the top positions of the WTA rankings.

2021 couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for Eala, who, at just 15 years old, won her first professional title at the ITF by LG tournament held in Manacor after defeating veteran Yvone Cavallé 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the final. This victory even earned her congratulations from Rafa Nadal himself, who offered her a few words on social media.

At the start of this year, Alex Eala has already accumulated 12 wins (and only 5 losses), putting in performances that have caught the attention of tournaments like the Miami Open, which has offered him this exciting invitation.

Before traveling to Miami, Alex will continue training in Manacor under the watchful eye of Toni Nadal and Gabriel Urpy, former coach of Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario and Conchita Martínez , and currently responsible for teaching women’s tennis at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar.