Rafael Nadal lauds Alex Eala for WTA 125 victory in Guadalajara

Alex Eala turned a crushing first set into the biggest breakthrough of her young career, rallying past Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, to capture the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open crown on Sunday at the Panamerican Tennis Center in Mexico.

The victory not only gave the 20-year-old her first WTA-level trophy, it also flipped the script on a budding rivalry. Just five months earlier in Portugal, Udvardy had denied the top-seeded Eala a deep run at the Oeiras Ladies Open, handing her a straight-sets defeat.

This time, though, Eala showed the composure of a champion — refusing to fold after a sluggish start and instead seizing control in the decisive set to mark a career-defining win.

Her triumph quickly echoed far beyond Mexico. From Mallorca, her longtime mentor and tennis great Rafael Nadal sent a message of pride and validation.

“Congrats, Alex Eala, on your first WTA (trophy),” Nadal posted on X (formerly Twitter). “I am happy and proud of what you are achieving for yourself and for the Philippines.”

Eala’s journey is deeply tied to Nadal’s influence. She trained at his academy in Mallorca as a teenager, graduating in 2023 before making her full transition into the WTA circuit. That connection made Nadal’s words even more meaningful.

Back home, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. added a national dimension to the celebration, calling Eala’s win “history written” in Philippine sports.

“Ang iyong tagumpay ay tagumpay ng buong bansa,” Marcos wrote on Facebook, promising more support for Filipino athletes to follow in her footsteps.

The Guadalajara title is more than a trophy for Eala — it is validation that she can break through at higher levels of the tour. And she won’t have much time to savor it. 

Next stop: São Paulo, where she enters the WTA 250 Open Courts tournament as the third seed behind Brazil’s world No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia and Argentina’s Solana Sierra. Udvardy, her familiar foe, will also be in the draw as the eighth seed, hinting at a possible rematch on South American soil.

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