Filipina netter Alex Eala has returned home to her family in the Philippines after spending much of her time in Europe.
After slipping to no. 3 in the world junior rankings last November, the 15-year-old tennis phenom is taking a short break.
By January, Eala is set to resume training for the 2021 professional and junior tennis seasons in and around Spain.
“It feels so good to be home. It’s so comforting. But I now have homeworks for training,” said Eala in a web conference.
Eala is making an effort to stay fit with four to five hours of workouts daily.
Last month, Eala fell a notch down to no. 3 in the world rankings after former world no. 1 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra took her sport when she reached the finals of two junior tournaments.
That was when Eala decided to play her second women’s tournament in Castellon, Spain and fell behind Jimenez.
Eala has since played in four professional events, earning her first points in a W15 rated competition in Mellila, where she reached the first round.
Eala made it to the main draw after beating Lucie Tan of France, 6-4, 2-6, 10-7, in the qualifiers.
“I’m happy with the results given the circumstances and obstacles,” said Eala, who was not able to join many pro competitions because of the restrictions and lockdown protocols imposed in Europe to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kasintseva overtook Eala after winning the junior Grade 1 netfest in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and placed runner-up to reigning French Open junior champion Jacquemot in the Villena juniors.
Overall, Jacquemot leads with 2595.5 points, with Kasintseva trailing with 2343.75 points, and Eala in third with 2148.75 points.
Diane Parry of France is in fourth (1967.5), followed in fifth by Ukraine’s Dana Snigur(1930).
“My goal was to be in the top 10, and I am now no. 3. And I am happy about that,” said Eala.
In her first professional outing, Eala pulled off a 6-1, 7-6, victory over Alba Carrillo Marin.
This year was a milestone for Eala after she played against the third-seeded Jacquemot in the 2020 French Open’s Roland Garros Junior Tennis Championships girls’ singles semifinals.
This showed how far Eala has gone over the last three years since joining the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy of superstar Rafael Nadal.