Tennis: Alex Eala claims first pro title

Photo from Rafa Nadal Academy Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala captured her first professional title on Sunday night.

At just 15 years old, Eala topped the ITF W15 Manacor Tournament after a sterling 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers of Spain in the women’s singles final.

After a tough opening set loss, Eala showed her grit and redeemed herself in dominant fashion to knock off the 28-year-old Cavalle-Reimers.

Eala is coming off a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Adithya Karunaratne of Hong Kong in the semifinals on Saturday.

Her road to her breakthrough pro title also includes a straight-sets win over tournament top seed Seone Mendez to make the quarterfinals.

Eala picked up where she left off in 2020 where she won the Australian Open girls’ doubles tournament and made the semifinal of the French Open girls’ singles tournament.