World No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada has nothing but kind words for No. 35 Alex Eala and their blossoming friendship.

Mboko, 19, said the 21-year-old Eala is someone she has grown close to as they continued traveling and competing on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.

Eala was battling World No. 33 Donna Vekic of Croatia in the Round of 32 of the Berlin Tennis Open in Germany at press time, hoping to come up with a solid performance that will boost her confidence ahead of the prestigious Wimbledon Championship next week.

“Alex is a really nice girl. I’ve known her for a really, really long time, but I feel like we’ve gotten closer since we’ve both been on the tour,” Mboko said.

“I think it’s really important sometimes to find little joys. We are all on the road for so long, and these are the years when we’re kind of finishing high school or going to university. Usually at this stage, you might have a big social friend group.”

Aside from Mboko, Eala is also friends with the likes of No. 19 Iva Jovic of the United States, No. 61 Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey, and No. 80 Eva Lys of Germany.

“But of course, with what we’re doing, we’re always traveling. We are very isolated a lot of the time, so if you’re able to find someone like her, who is so charismatic and so kind, sometimes we’ll grab a little dinner or go to a café. We just do a lot of wholesome things, and it’s very heartwarming to get out of the hotel room.”

Eala and Mboko first clashed at the Hong Kong Open last October, where the Canadian prevailed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Round of 16.

They were supposed to join forces in the women’s doubles event of the French Open last May but they withdrew as Mboko reportedly opted to rest in preparation for her singles campaign.

Eala sees Mboko not just as a rival on the court but also as a friend who shares her struggles and can relate to her experiences.

“These friendships I have on the tour are very important to me. I don’t know how I would survive the tour without them. They are not just tennis friends; they are friends for life,” Eala said.