Bold move paying off

MIAMI – On the heels of yet another stunning win at the Miami Open, Alex Eala of the Philippines credited her family for her steady rise in the sport.

When Eala was a 13-year-old girl, growing up in the Philippines, her talent was evident and her family made the difficult decision to send her to Spain to Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca.

There is no doubt that the access to the quality of coaching and facilities that the Spaniard makes available has helped Eala to grow into the 2022 US Open girls’ singles champion and now a real contender on the WTA Tour.

But Eala knows that her road to the big stage began earlier than that move.

“The academy has been my home for the past seven years. Of course, my family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there.” she said.

“But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I’m able to be where I am now. And I think the combination of everything that I’ve been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities,” she added.

Eala says it was a tough decision for her family to send her away to Europe at such a young age, although the fact that her brother Miko also signed up for the academy made it easier for her parents.

But as close as Eala evidently is to her family, she said she knew it was the right move.

“It was definitely a big decision for me, for us. As soon as I heard that, I jumped at the opportunity because I knew that I had to get out of the country eventually to improve,” she added.

Eala gained her passion for the game through playing with her grandfather who was a keen club player and coached her brother and cousins before turning his attention to the youngster.

Her big win came the day after another Asian member of the Nadal Academy, Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong, pulled off a stunning win of his own in Miami, beating American 13th seed Ben Shelton.

The two are good friends and Eala was delighted to see his victory less than 24 hours before her own triumph.

“I’m super happy for him,” she said.

The match between Eala and Paula Badosa will be shown live on Blast TV app starting at 7 a.m. today, and its linear simulcast of Premier Sports on all platforms including cable, Direct to Home, Blast TV app and connected TV like Samsung TV plus.

Meanwhile, Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, coming off back-to-back WTA 1000 wins in Dubai and Indian Wells, also exited in the third round, her 13-match winning streak ending with a 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 loss to American Amanda Anisimova.

Anisimova will face Emma Raducanu in the fourth round, after the British player advanced when her American opponent McCartney Kessler retired injured in the second set of their encounter.

Iga Swiatek overcame a determined Elise Mertens to secure a 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 victory and take her place in the Last 16.