Alex Eala expressed her gratitude to Spanish legend Rafael Nadal, who formally announced his retirement from competitive tennis last Thursday.

The 19-year-old Eala thanked the 22-time Grand Slam champion for everything that he taught her during her time as a scholar at the Rafael Nadal Academy (RNA) in Mallorca, Spain.

“Thank you for everything, Rafa,” the Filipino tennis sensation said in a short message after learning that the upcoming Davis Cup in November will be Nadal’s final international event.

Nadal has been an integral part of Eala’s tennis career.

Together with her brother, Miko, Eala has been honing her craft at RNA since she was 12.

During her stay at RNA, Eala bagged three Junior Grand Slams: The 2020 Australian Open girls’ doubles with Priska Nugroho of Indonesia, the 2021 French Open girls’ doubles with Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia, and the 2022 US Open girls’ singles title.

She also became the world No. 2 girls’ tennis player in the International Tennis Federation rankings.

Also, because of her experience in the famed academy, Eala has been able to bag five singles titles and three doubles championships since becoming a professional player in 2020.

While Eala opted to fully focus on competing professionally, her older brother Miko is currently playing for Penn State in the United States.

Nadal was even present during her graduation in 2023, with top women’s tennis player Iga Swiatek of Poland as a guest speaker.

During her graduation at RNA last year, Nadal challenged Eala not to give up with her dream of becoming a global tennis superstar.

“Give yourself opportunities,” Nadal told Eala and other graduates.

“This is the reality, don’t get frustrated when things don’t work out the first time, don’t get frustrated when you have been trying for a while and things don’t work out. Keep giving yourself chances.”

Despite an early exit in the Wuhan Open, in which she suffered a 3-6, 1-6 loss to Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic in the Round of 64 last Thursday, Eala stressed that she still enjoyed her time in China and learned things that she can apply in her career.

“Had an incredible time here in Wuhan, on and off the court! I’m deeply grateful to Globe for their unwavering encouragement and trust in my development,” Eala said.

“Next year I’ll be back better.”