Alexandra Eala is one of the most popular players on the WTA Tour.
The Filipina, 20, first made a name for herself at the 2025 Miami Open, reaching the semi-finals after defeating Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
From there, Eala has continued her ascendancy, becoming the first Filipina in history to become a top-40 ranked player on the WTA Tour.
Most recently, Eala has been competing in the Middle East. She reached the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals last week, before being knocked out in the first round of the Qatar Open.
Amid the hustle and bustle of the tennis Tour, Eala has taken time to share some of her wisdom.
Alex Eala says being able to compartmentalise is the most important skill for a student athlete
As per a post on the Rafa Nadal Academy Instagram page, Eala said: “I think the most important skill as a student athlete is to know how to compartmentalise.
“And if I’m being frank, when I was on tournament, I never wanted to do any kind of school work, never wanted to do any kind of homework, any kind of google classes.
“No [laughing] I never wanted to do it just because I was so focused on the tournament and you’re always like, tense even when you’re not on court.
“So what I felt it was important is to know when is the right time to do what. And when you have a certain time where you’re competing – okay, all your focus is on the competition.
“And when you have the time to study, for example, all your attention is on studying. So you maximise your efforts and you maximise your time.”
Eala is set to travel to the UAE to take part in the Dubai Tennis Championships. Eala, who will enter the tournament through qualifying, will make her debut appearance at the event.
Following her appearance in Dubai, Eala will likely travel to North America to take part in the Indian Wells Open – where she will defend 390 WTA points.
Can Eala win another WTA title this year?
In September last year, Eala won her maiden WTA title at the Guadalajara 125k event in Mexico.
The title win confirmed what many had been thinking prior to the success: Eala is one of the most promising talents on the WTA Tour.
However, she is yet to capture a first WTA Tour-level title: a tournament that offers 250 ranking points – or more – to the winner.
Eala’s best effort to date came at the 2025 Eastbourne Open, where she lost in the final to Maya Joint, despite having championship points.
Eala has more than proven that she can win a WTA Tour-level event. However, whether she can deliver on her potential remains to be seen.
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