Eala forging friendship with big guns

Getting within the top 50 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has not only improved Alex Eala’s skills but also her connections and exposure as one of the best players in the world.

Speaking in The Players’ Box podcast, Eala said being in the WTA Tour helped her form friendships with the likes of Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey, Victoria Mboko of Canada, Eva Lys of Germany and Iva Jovic of the United States, which help as she builds her professional career.

“Being more established gave me confidence to approach other players and build friendships,” said the 20-year-old Eala, who now ranks No. 46 in the world.

“I made great friendships, though travel made it hard to maintain them. Still, it was an amazing experience.”

Eala is in Austria for the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, where she is facing home bet and world No. 87 Julia Grabher in the Round of 32 at press time.

Should the Filipina win, she will take on No. 14 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the Last 16 of her first WTA 500 tournament in clay this year.

Also in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz field are superstars like No. 10 Mirra Andreeva of Russia and No. 13 and fellow Russian Ekaterina Alcandrova.

Even with a huge Filipino crowd rallying behind her in every match, the Rafael Nadal Academy graduate said she remains grounded as she gets recognized wherever she goes.

“Not as much as you’d think — still training every day. But I get recognized now, even in places like LA (Los Angeles). That’s new,” Eala said.

“Things changed when people started waiting for my practices and when I needed security for safety.”

As Eala starts her clay season, expect fans to come in and cheer her on as she climbs her way back into the top 30 of the WTA rankings.

The Madrid Open in Spain, which runs from 21 April to 3 May, and the French Open from 18 May to 7 June in France will be the big events Filipino fans will go to as Eala collides with the likes of world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 4 Coco Gauff in the United States.