Expectations were not that high when world no. 3 junior player Alex Eala started competing in the International Tennis Federation women’s tour in the final week of January.
With many experienced players focused on the big games of rivals who have better rankings than Eala, she went on to win in the finals of one leg of a $15000 event of a three-stage netfest in Manacor, Spain.
Later, Eala made it to the quarterfinals of the last two legs, before Polish bet Maja Chwalinska put an end to Eala’s campaign at the Trophee de la Ville, a $25,000 ITF tournament in Grenoble, France.
“I’m quite new to them, and most of them are experienced. It can be intimidating when you’re on court. But it really shouldn’t matter,” said the 15-year-old Eala on Noli Eala’s weekly “Power and Play” program.
Eala had been taking on older opponents and higher ranked netters while in Grenoble.
This included two top 200 players whom she defeated. Those were world No. 190 Laura-Ioana Paar of Romania, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in in the first round and world No. 164 Cristina Bucsa of Spain, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(8), in the second.
These players knew nothing about her, according to Eala, and it sort of helped that they didn’t.
“Well, I guess to a certain degree (that they did not know her). I had no pressure to perform or anything,” said Eala.
The Grenoble quarterfinals was Eala’s fourth straight professional quarterfinal appearance for the year.
And among her immediate goals will be to improve on her rankings in the professional circuit.
And Eala’s ranking remains at world no, 942 since start of the month of February.
Last week, Eala was among the 15 recipients of the ITF junior grant which went as high as $25000.
The other junior girls players are world no. 2 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra, Weronika Baszak of Poland, Kristina Dmitruk (Belarus), Julia Garcia of Mexico, Yasmine Kabbaj (Morroco), Mell Elizabeth Reasco Gonzalez (Ecuador) and Vivian Yang of New Zealand).