Eala ready to battle best, brightest in the world

Bring it on!

Alex Eala is ready to face the best and brightest tennis players in the world following her morale-boosting run in the Miami Open last month.

In an online news briefing on Tuesday, the 19-year-old Eala said the main strategy that she used during her memorable run in Miami was to just focus on her preparations and not get intimidated by her opponents ranking and stature.

Eala is finally back at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain following her sensational run in the prestigious WTA 1000 event, where she humbled a slew of former Grand Slam champions, including world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland.

With that, she rose to her career-best ranking of No. 75 before further improving two notches higher this week at No. 73.

“I think, well, a big part, I’ve said previously, of being able to face these opponents is to treat them like they’re any other opponent, is to strip them of all their decorations and all their achievements,” Eala said.

“There’s nothing that I did in particular that was out of my routine. Of course, the tactics or the things I would talk about and the emotional preparation with my coach would be different when he saw that I was a little bit more nervous and it was a little bit higher stakes than what I’m normally used to.”

“But nothing drastic has changed. So, I prepare for it like all my other tournaments and all my other matches. I have a routine and I have to stick to that.”

With her rise in world ranking, Eala is no longer required to compete in grueling qualification phase of major events like the US Open, the Wimbledon, and the French Open, which is set from 35 May to 8 June at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.

“This is something I haven’t done before, being in the top 100 and being one of the seeded players. So that’s what I’m trying to work on, keeping up this level,” Eala said, adding that despite her success in Miami, she remains hungry as ever.

“I think after top 75, the next step would be logically the Top 50.”

“But as I said, this is all new territory for me so I’ll try to navigate that before claiming any new steps.”

But before competing in the French Open, Eala has to face a very busy schedule.

She will compete in the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal from 14 to 20 April and in the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain from 22 April to 4 May.

Then, Eala will see action in Italy for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome from 5 to 11 May and the Parma Ladies Open from 12 to 17 May.

Like the Miami Open, the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia are also classified as WTA 1000 competitions, which will be a great opportunity for Eala to boost her rankings and consistently compete against the top tennis players in the world.

Despite her newfound status, Eala remains grounded as she believes she grows wiser from her battles.

“In the end, I’m the same player as I was two months ago, with a little bit more experience and a little bit more knowledge of what I’m capable of doing, and I understand that this is new for me,” Eala said.