WHILE Alex Eala made the whole Philippines proud after a gallant finish at the French Open Juniors Tournament last week, congratulations from no less than living legend Rafael Nadal deserves another round of celebrations entirely.
"Congratulations on a great result and keep it up! We are all very happy for you at the Academy," Nadal told the dynamic Filipina netter on his social media pages.
The 15-year-old capped off her stint with an impressive semifinals finish, the highest feat the country has ever reached in a Grand Slam.
Alex also climbed up two places, now ranked the World no. 2, in the International Tennis Federation World Juniors Rankings.
Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Nadal remained the title holder after defending his Roland Garros crown against World no. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
"Vamosssss. Very happy for you and keep up the hard work and great results," he added in a separate message.
The French Open now over, Alex was able to get back safely to her quarters in the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
She also revealed in a previous interview that alongside the skills and talent, she's a huge fan of Nadal's great modesty as a player.
"One of the biggest things I can take away form Rafa is humility, he’s so grounded and has achieved more than I can dream of, and the fact that he’s achieved so much, and he’s still very nice to everyone here, it’s very admirable for him," she said.
Spin fans unite at the Spin Viber Community! Join the growing community now and complete the experience by subscribing to the Spin Chatbot.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph