By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala received one of the sweetest and inspiring messages from none other than tennis legend and idol 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 Eala 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 grit to turn back Hungarian Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the WTA125 tournament.
The win enabled Eala to etch her 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.
The Sao Paulo Open is part of the Tour offering more tournament points compared to the Guadalajara Open, which is a WTA125 event. Eala, however, is entering the tournament as third seed.
World No. 27 and local bet Beatriz Haddad Maia banners the 32-player main draw field that also has second seed and world No. 82 Solana Sierra.
On paper, Eala has the advantage with her recent WTA title feat and current ranking compared to Mansouri, who, at 24, is currently ranked No. 380.
Mansouri barged into the main draw with quick victories over local bets Ana Cruz, 6-3, 6-2, and Thaisa Grana Pedretti, 6-2, 6-4.
So far, the Frenchwoman has five singles and 14 doubles titles in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit.
Eala, for her part, boasts of five singles and three doubles titles in the ITF circuit, and has a wider experience in the WTA scene where she faced — and won — against some of the world’s best players that include Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek, to name a few.
