MANILA, Philippines — Filipina tennister Alex Eala impressed a lot of people in her historic stint in the 2020 French Open Juniors tournament, including tennis superstar Rafael Nadal.
Nadal, who recently won his 13th French Open title for his 20th career Grand Slam, congratulated the 15-year-old on twitter days after her campaign ended.
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"Vamosssss. Very happy for you and keep up the hard work and great results," Nadal wrote.
Eala is a scholar in Nadal's tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain and has been rubbing shoulders with the World No. 2.
She and her brother Miko, who is also a scholar at the Rafa Nadal Academy (RNA), have had chances to practice with the 34-year-old.
Eala recently opened up about the experience of being under Nadal's wing at the tennis academy.
"The environment here is very professional and everyone here pushes each other. It's a good place to learn new things and push your limits," Eala said.
The Filipina tennister recently had a career performance in the Roland Garros Girls' Singles tournament where she reached her first Grand Slam singles semifinal.
Her impressive stint bumped her up in the second spot in the ITF Juniors World Rankings — a new career-high.
Eala is currently back at RNA and is already back on the tennis courts to further improve her skills.