Alexandra Eala is making a name for herself on the WTA Tour, but off the court, she is still processing the surreal reality of rubbing shoulders with her childhood idols. The 20-year-old grew up in the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, but despite her daily proximity to one of the greatest athletes of all time, she still gets completely starstruck in the presence of sports legends.
Alexandra Eala Details Rafael Nadal Chats, Novak Djokovic Selfie, Simone Biles
While training heavily at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain, Eala’s daily life includes casually crossing paths with Rafael Nadal himself and conversing with him.
When Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim asked her about the coolest experience she has had, or the most interesting person she met, the Filipina said, “Well, aside from all of the really core relationships that have brought me to where I am today, like my team, of course, meeting Rafa and just being able to converse with him on quite a regular basis is crazy to me. And sometimes I’m coached by Toni. If you told me that when I was younger, there’s no way I would have believed you.”
Regarding off-court experiences, she talked about recently attending the Laureus Sports Awards and being surrounded by so many legendary athletes. “I was able to steal a selfie with the host, Novak, and Eileen Gu. I was really shaking when I asked for that selfie! And then to see Nadia Comăneci also, her speech was so beautiful,” Eala said.
Wertheim noted that Comăneci, the legendary gymnast, is a tennis fan and frequently attends exhibitions.
“Really? Okay, I didn’t know,” a genuinely surprised Eala responded, before detailing her experience seeing another gymnastics icon. “And then I saw Simone Biles in person. I saw all of these amazing athletes, and it was so inspirational.”
Wertheim was quick to point out that it’s the same for Eala as well, as she has a massive fan following and support worldwide, especially in the Philippines. And with each step, she is making history. At the Australian Open earlier this year, she made her main draw debut at the Melbourne major, adding to a resume that began with her first-ever Grand Slam main draw appearance at the 2025 French Open. In March, Eala rocketed to a career-high ranking of world No. 29.
In the Madrid Open, Eala secured an opening-round victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (6-3, 6-3) but got knocked out in the Round of 64 after a 6-2, 6-1 by Belgian veteran Elise Mertens. Currently in Rome, she had another impressive opening-round victory, where she battled back to defeat Magdalena Fręch (6-0, 3-6, 6-4). Eala now advances to the Round of 64 to face China’s Wang Xinyu.
