By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala received one of the biggest pats on the back from none other than tennis legend Rafael Nadal following her runner-up finish at the Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain last Saturday, June 28.
“The first of many finals, @AlexEala05!” wrote the retired former world No. 1 and 22-time Grand Slam champion on X (formerly Twitter). The post was accompanied by a video of Eala’s emotional post-match speech at center court.
Before that message, the 39-year-old Spaniard had already praised Eala’s milestone achievement—becoming the first Filipina to reach a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour final.
Eala is a proud alumna of the Rafa Nadal Academy (RNA) in Mallorca, Spain, where her current coaches are also based.
Eala is expected to bring the experience and lessons from this breakthrough performance into her Wimbledon campaign.
She’ll need all of it, as she is set to face a tough opening-round opponent in defending champion Barbora Krejcikova on Tuesday, July 1 (Philippine time).
