Alex Eala entered 2021 seemingly taller and with a stronger physique that could puzzle everyone else on how she’s just 15 years old.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors world No. 3 kicked off the year right in the women’s circuit and even caused unexpected upsets to claim her maiden professional title last January.

While she participated in all 3 legs of her school Rafael Nadal Academy’s World Tennis Tour, she was also juggling the competition with her midterms but still managed to end the last two legs in the quarterfinals.

But Eala is not done yet with her pro title campaign as she immediately traveled to France to join her first women’s $25,000 tournament this year Trophee de la Ville in Grenoble City.

Tireless as she may seem, it was all thanks to the hard work she put in off the court that allowed her to shake up the women’s circuit. (FAST FACTS: Who is teen tennis sensation Alex Eala?)

“These past 3 weeks have shown me that results will come after your hard work. I have been working really hard the past preseason and I couldn’t be happier with the results of my first few tournaments of 2021,” Eala told Rappler.

After her impressive 2020 Roland Garros semifinals finish, which made her the first Filipino in 35 years since Felix Barrientos to make a juniors singles Grand Slam semis appearance, Eala joined a string of pro tournaments before transitioning to the off-season.

Eala trained like a professional, focusing on her fitness program and inserting them in between her twice-a-day court sessions.

Even when she was able to come back to Manila to spend time with her family during the holidays, she was not able to keep herself off the court for very long and resumed her twice-a-day training in her home soil.

Now, the Filipina teen tennis ace just saw herself check more milestones off the list – getting a congratulatory social media post from world No. 2 Nadal himself and cracking the top 1000 of the WTA rankings at No. 942.

Eala just showed that she can aspire to join the ranks of young tennis stars like Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, as her name is already sending shockwaves in the tennis world.

“Winning the first tournament was definitely a good start. I just tried to play my best in the following tournaments and take everything step by step,” said Eala on how her first title boosted her confidence to set the tone for the year.

The ITF has continued to recognize Eala’s efforts as she became one of the 15 netters who will be able to benefit from the federation’s junior player grants program in 2021.

Eligible players like Eala can receive up to $25,000 per season to assist with their playing costs.

Expect the Rafael Nadal Academy scholar to see more action in the pros this year as she is allowed to join up to 3 $25,000 and 2 $60,000 events this year as part of the ITF junior exempt program.

And of course, Eala also sets her sights on this year’s Grand Slam tournaments, hoping to clinch another title since her 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles title romp with Indonesian partner Priska Nugroho. – Rappler.com