Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala was all smiles even after an early exit in the 2021 Miami Open.

Though she wished to go further in the qualifying draw, her whole experience in her maiden Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) level 1000 tournament fueled her to work harder.

“I’m leaving this tournament wanting to work harder and knowing what I need to work on,” said Eala.

“Seeing how the other players work and how much discipline they have and concentration during the practice, you can see it’s very consistent and very intense.”

The 15-year-old Filipina sized up to No. 29 seed Viktoria Kuzmova as she stunned her Slovakian foe by taking the first set in the opening round of the qualifying draw.

Kuzmova forced a come-from-behind win, but not without a challenge as Eala still created chances for herself in the losing effort.

Prior to her opening match, Eala managed to hit with world No. 16 and 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek of Poland.

“Being exposed to this environment really shows me that this is what I want to do, and I’ve been working so hard to get here, but there’s still a really long way to go,” said Eala who ranks No. 737 in the WTA rankings.

In order to join more WTA tournaments, the Rafael Nadal Academy scholar needs to rack up points and boost her pro tournament ranking to earn more wild cards.

Eala, who already holds a pro title, is also part of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior exempt program, where the top-ranked juniors players are allotted a number of pro tournament spots within the year.

This paved the way for her to join her first women’s $60,000 tournament in Bellinzona, Switzerland, which will be staged from April 5 to 11.

After kicking off the 2020 season with her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, the rising tennis star became the Philippines’ first junior Grand Slam semifinalist in 35 years in the Roland Garros girls singles tournament. – Rappler.com