Alex Eala starts clay-court buildup at Rafa Nadal Academy

After months of chasing points, rankings, and breakthroughs on hard courts, Alex Eala is back where a different kind of tennis begins.

The Filipina star has started her transition to the clay season at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, returning to the place that has long played a major role in her growth as a player.

In a series of Instagram stories posted by the academy, Eala was shown training on indoor red clay, working through a 14-ball rally while striking mostly forehands and adjusting her movement to cover the backhand side.

It was a brief glimpse, but one that signaled the beginning of a key stretch in her 2026 campaign.

The first half of Eala’s WTA season has already shown clear signs of progress.

She opened the year with a semifinal run in Auckland and a main draw appearance at the Australian Open, results that helped her climb to a new career-high of World No. 45 and further establish herself as a regular presence in bigger tournaments.

More importantly, Eala has started building her season through consistency rather than isolated breakthroughs.

Instead of relying on one standout week, she has steadily collected wins, rounds, and valuable experience against stronger fields, showing that her rise is becoming more sustainable.

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Preparing for the Clay Season where it all began for Alex Eala at the Rafael Nadal Academy.
pic.twitter.com/yX6gmVSkQE

— Frenchy (@FrenchyBam) March 31, 2026

That trend carried into the Sunshine Double.

Eala competed in both Indian Wells and the Miami Open, where she reached the Round of 16 before bowing out to Karolina Muchova after wins over Magda Linette and Laura Siegemund.

Even with her rankings drop from No. 29 to No. 45 after Miami, the bigger picture remains encouraging.

The fall in ranking had more to do with defending points from last year’s deep run than a dip in form, which makes this upcoming clay stretch even more important for maintaining momentum.

Her clay campaign begins in Linz, where she enters a strong field that includes former champions Ekaterina Alexandrova, Jelena Ostapenko, and Karolína Plíšková.

She will then continue her run through Stuttgart and Madrid, two major stops on the WTA calendar that should offer a clearer measure of where her game stands on the surface.

For Eala, this clay swing is about more than just the next tournaments on her schedule. It is a chance to prove that the progress she has made this season can carry across surfaces, and that her 2026 campaign can keep building through discipline, adaptability, and the kind of consistency needed to stay on the rise.

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