Alex Eala immediately made her presence felt as she rolled past crowd favorite Ena Koike, 6-2, 6-0, in the opening round of the ITF W100 Takasaki in Japan Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Eala went off with a dominant performance in two sets – which lasted for an hour and two minutes – with the Japanese unable to overcome the red-hot Filipina youngster.

Eala, 19, arranged a second-round affair against Japan’s Hayu Kinoshita, who turned back compatriot Kayo Nishimura in her opener, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.

The Asiad and SEA Games bronze medalist might face topnotch female bets including continental elites in China’s Sijia Wei and Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew if she goes deep into the knockout round.
 

Eala honors Nadal

The teen star, who is longing to bring glory for the country in the bigger stage, expressed her gratitude to one of her mentors, none other than sport icon Rafael Nadal of Spain.

Eala, a graduate of Rafa Nadal Academy (RNA) last year, has nothing but sweet messages for Nadal, who played his last professional game in the  Davis Cup where the 22-time grand slam champ took an emotional farewell to his fans as Spain got eliminated in the international team event.

“Thank you Rafa! You’ve influenced me in more ways than you know,” Eala wrote on her social media post Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“You have set up unbelievable opportunities for me and so many other kids, and for that I am so grateful,” she added.

Eala was a full scholar in RNA for five years, while also becoming the first Filipino to bag a junior Grand Slam singles crown after reigning supreme in US Open girls’ category.