“Since I started to play tennis, I’m watching his matches. I look up to him and I grew up watching him. He was my idol, he is still my idol,” Carlos Alcaraz said when Rafael Nadal announced his retirement. Rafa has been his hero since childhood. But Carlitos wasn’t the only one whom Nadal inspired. Alexandra Eala, a 19-year-old rising star at the Miami Open, is another player who idolizes Nadal. And why not? She trained at his academy. A throwback video proves just how much influence the legendary Spaniard has on her.

Eala has been on a dream run in Miami. The Filipino teenager recently pulled off a stunning upset over World No. 2 Iga Swiatek to reach the semi-finals. That’s not all. On her run to the quarterfinals, she took down Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys, becoming just the second wild card to defeat three or more Slam winners in a single tournament. The first was Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon 2023. Before this event, Eala – currently holding the 140th spot in the WTA rankings – had never beaten a Top 40 player, nor faced one in the Top 20; now, she owns two Top 10 victories.

Amid Eala’s growing fame, Rafael Nadal’s influence on her shines through. The ITF recently shared a throwback video featuring Eala at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where they spent a day with her a year ago. The video captures her walking through the museum’s trophy room, marveling at his achievements, and reflecting on his impact.

“It is hugely inspirational to see him practicing almost every day and to see him in the gym. It’s really motivating to see his work ethic and something that we can all copy from him. Of course, to be within the presence of all this history and especially here in the museum to see it again. I looked up to him as a kid and I saw a lot of similarities. You know, we’re both lefties. I loved how he fought on court. So I try to also channel that when I play tennis,” Eala said.

Eala left the Philippines for Mallorca at just 13 to join the Rafa Nadal Academy, where she honed her skills for seven years. She graduated from the academy in 2023, with Nadal himself attending the ceremony. Coincidentally, Swiatek, whom she just defeated, was also present at the event.

Her achievements have caught the attention of her idol as well.

Alexandra Eala receives words of encouragement from Rafael Nadal

When Alexandra Eala defeated the 2017 French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko, in the R64, Rafael Nadal shared a post on social media, saying, “Congratulations Alex! What a great win for you and for [the Philippines].” Then again, after her impressive 6-4, 6-2 victory against the reigning AO champion, Madison Keys, the Spaniard applauded the youngster. He took to his Instagram Story, applauding her success with “👏🏼@alex.eala👏🏼.”

And after her triumph against Swiatek, Nadal came up with a post on X saying, “👏🏻E We are extremely proud of you, Alex. What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming! 💪🏼.”

The Rafa Nadal Academy has been Eala’s “home for the past seven years.” Talking about the academy’s pivotal role in her rapid rise, she once admitted, “Of course, my family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there. But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I’m able to be where I am now.”

Rafael Nadal’s uncle & ex-coach, Toni Nadal, was also spotted in her box during her match against Swiatek. During her post-match interview with the Tennis Channel, Alexandra Eala talked about how happy she was to see Toni attending her match. The 19-year-old said, “Well, I worked very closely with Toni alongside, of course, my coach Joan, Sandro, and the other people from the academy. It meant a lot that he showed up here. I know that he had to catch a flight, but it showed the confidence he had in me and the confidence the academy had in me. I also didn’t know that he was going to come until this morning.”

Now, Eala faces an even bigger test—Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals. Can she pull off another upset and continue her fairytale run?