Now in her third year of training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Alexandra Eala has become used to answering questions about the 20-time Grand Slam champion. But after Nadal posted a congratulatory message to the 15-year-old on Instagram last Monday – liked by more than 100,000 people – she can expect even more attention to come her way.

“I woke up and my friend had texted me that Rafa posted [about] me on his Instagram,” she said in an interview with itftennis.com this week. “I was freaking out. I was not calm! He was one of my all-time idols, even before I was at the Academy I looked up to him so much. It’s an honour.”

The praise from the world No. 2 was well-earned. Eala had just won her first professional title – in just her sixth appearance at an ITF World Tennis Tour women’s event – defeating a player 13 years her senior in the final of W15 Manacor in Mallorca. She backed up the win with a solid performance in her next tournament, reaching the quarter-finals of another W15 event in Manacor this week as well.

“It was amazing, I couldn’t believe it,” she said of her title victory. “This is obviously a really big milestone for me and I’m just happy I am able to share it with all my friends and my family.”

Eala has already established herself as one of the most-talented players on the junior circuit. After winning the prestigious JA Cape Town event in 2019 – where she defeated Linda Fruhvirtova, another rising star – she went on to reach the final at the Osaka Mayor’s Cup and the semi-finals at the Orange Bowl later that year. Grand Slam success followed in 2020, with a semi-final finish in the girls’ singles at Roland Garros, and a triumph in doubles alongside Indonesia’s Priska Madelyn Nugroho at the Australian Open.

Now, Eala is determined to replicate the performances that have taken her to the top of the junior game at professional level.

“For the next year, I really hope to focus more on my professional career, on women’s [circuit] tournaments, and just get as far as I can,” she explained. “I take it step-by-step, I’m still very new to the women’s tour and don’t really know what to expect from there, but I think that’s part of the journey – that it never stops surprising you.”

Eala is one of 15 players who have received support from the ITF’s junior player grants programme in 2021. The initiative enables eligible players to receive up to $25,000 per season to assist with their costs.

“It’s a huge, huge help,” she said of the grant she has been awarded. “It’s really a big help for me, and I’m sure for other players as well.

 “For players who are supporting themselves, tennis is not a cheap sport. It’s hard to travel everywhere, you have to find those opportunities. The [grants] really help players venture out and find the right paths for them.”

Although she now trains in Spain, Eala was clear that one of her main aims was to raise the profile of tennis in her home country. While there have been some excellent Filipino players over the years, none have ever become stars of the game.

“I’m really, really proud to be representing women’s sports in the Philippines,” she continued. “Ever since I was young I think that the Philippines has been looked down upon and underrated and in team events, everyone would be praying to get us. I really want that to change and I feel we have huge potential. If I can be a part of that in any way I think that’d be great.”

Like any 15-year-old tennis player, Eala has lofty ambitions. When asked what her long-term goals were, she allowed herself a moment to envision the perfect career.

“The main goal is to become a full-time professional, to win Grand Slams and to become world No. 1,” she replied, before quickly adding that she realised how much work there was to do to achieve those aims.

“Right now, I like to think of my smaller goals,” she continued. “Improving my women’s ranking, and just continuing to improve on the things that I need to improve right now. There’s a lot of room for improvement, I think!”

Still, there are signs that Eala is not far away at all from reaching the sport’s highest levels. At the end of 2020, she defeated Francesca Jones in the first round of W25 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Since then, Jones has gone on to reach the main draw of the Australian Open, after three superb victories in qualifying in Dubai earlier in January.  

“She’s an amazing player, and I’m sure she deserves it so much, everything she did that week,” Eala said of the British player. “But it does give me a lot of hope that I have potential to get to that level. I don’t know how long it will take, maybe a year, maybe a few years. As of right now I know I still have a lot of things that I need to work on, but as I said, it gives me a lot of confidence and does make me happy to see that I can do that.”

As one of Nadal’s protegees, the tennis world will be watching closely from now on.

The following eight girls and seven boys have received junior player grants of up to $25,000 in 2021:

Girls: Weronika Baszak (POL), Kristina Dmitruk (BLR), Alexandra Eala (PHI), Julia Garcia (MEX), Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (AND), Yasmine Kabbaj (MAR), Mell Elizabeth Reasco Gonzalez (ECU), Vivian Yang (NZL)

Boys: Corban Crowther (NZL), Li Hanwen (CHN), Khololwam Montsi (RSA), Karlis Ozolins (LAT), Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez (MEX), Natan Rodrigues (BRA), Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune (DEN)