Eala continues winning ways, reaches ITF tournament final

FILE – Filipino tennis player Alex Eala. Photo from Rafael Nadal Academy

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala continued her unstoppable run and hammered out a 6-3, 6-4 romp of Adithya Karunaratne of Hong Kong in the semifinals of the International Tennis Federation Rafa Nadal Academy World Tennis Tour Saturday.

Coming off a grueling 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 win over Carole Monnet in the quarterfinals, Eala only had less than a day before she got back on the court. With another straight-sets win, Eala has gone the distance only once in the tournament so far.

The 15-year-old Eala moved on to face Spain’s Yvonne Cavalle-Relmers, who is 13 years her senior, in the final for the $15,000 cash prize.

The No. 3 player in the ITF Junior World Rankings is still looking to establish herself in the professional circuit where she’s ranked at No. 1,651.

The finals matchup against Cavalle-Relmers is her first championship contest in the singles tournament.

Eala had a strong 2020 where she won the Australian Open Girls’ doubles tournament while also becoming a semifinalist in the French Open Girls’ singles tournament.