Alex Eala believes she has the potential to take home a Slam someday. —REUTERS .
Now at No. 73 in the world, Alex Eala is eligible to play in the French Open without going through the qualifiers.
“I’m super excited, super happy,” she said during an online press conference on Tuesday. “It’s a big achievement to start my [tournament in the] main draw, instead of playing the three matches to … qualify.”
At Roland Garros, however, there is no avoiding her tennis roots.
The 19-year-old rising tennis star left the Philippines when she was 13 to train at Rafael Nadal Academy. And any mention of the French Open will naturally reel Nadal’s name into the conversation.
READ; Alex Eala continues career rise, climbs to world No. 73
“Of course, Roland Garros meant a lot to him as a player,” Eala said of the Spanish star, who holds the record for most French Open titles.
But Eala is not letting Nadal’s success on clay define how she performs in what is a relatively challenging Grand Slam.
“I’m trying to just make my own path and do, you know, not just because I want to do well in Roland Garros, not just because Rafa did well there. I want to do well there because it’s what I want to do. And I believe that I can do well on the Grand Slam of clay,” Eala said.
“I definitely think I have the potential for a Grand Slam.”
Alex Eala of the Philippines waves to fans from her player’s chair after her match against Jessica Pegula of the United States in a women’s singles semifinal on day ten of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The Filipino teenager said her focus is to continue improving and not hang her career on her spectacular run in the recent Miami Open, where she flattened three straight Grand Slam champions on her way to the semifinals.
“I cannot dwell on just that because in the end, it’s one tournament,” Eala said. “And I know that in order to be great, you need tournament after tournament after tournament after tournament like this. So, that’s, again, that’s what I’m trying to work on. That’s the goal.”
ANALYSIS: At Miami Open, Alex Eala adds to icon-building era
She has put mileposts to guide her to that goal of greatness and apart from consistently coming up with strong performances in major tournaments, Eala also wants to improve on her ranking.
“The next step would be logically would be [making it to the] top 50,” she said. “But as I said, this is all new territory for me. So I’m trying to navigate that before claiming any new steps.”
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While her Miami Open run flaunted her strengths, it also exposed the things she needs to work on. And those areas of concern—her serve, her footwork—will be the target of her training.
