Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala impressed once again right on her home court in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Rafael Nadal Academy women’s $25,000 tournament in Manacor, Spain.

Eala defeated Simona Waltert of Switzerland, 6-1, 6-4, in the opening round of the professional tournament hosted on the Rafael Nadal Academy grounds.

After cruising over the 20-year-old Swiss in the opening set, Waltert fought back going up 2-1 in the 2nd set, but Eala rallied back and outlasted her foe for a straight-set conquest.

This is the first tournament Eala joined after seeing action in 4 straight pro tournaments to kick off the year.

The 15-year-old Filipina started off the year with a maiden pro title in the first leg of the Rafael Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour, which was composed of $15,000 tournaments.

After the three-week tour, Eala flew to Grenoble, France to join the Trophee de la Ville in Grenoble, France for her first $25,000 tournament of the year.

Eala was given a slot through the ITF junior player exempt program, where the top-ranked juniors players are allotted a number of pro tournament spots within the year.

Since Eala finished with a year-end world No. 3 ranking in the juniors circuit, she is allowed to join up to 3 $25,000 and 2 $60,000 events this year.

As she levels up to a $25,000 tournament, the Filipina tennis ace will be going up against players who are in the top 100 to 200 of Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.

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

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