Filipino netter graduates from Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Miko Eala, the older brother of girls’ junior world No. 4 Alex Eala, has just graduated from Rafael Nadal’s International tennis School.

Eala’s graduation from the prestigious tennis academy opened several opportunities for him and landed him a spot on the NCAA Division I school Penn State University as a varsity player.

One of the most iconic moments of Eala in the tennis academy was becoming one of Nadal’s volley-mates during his training session with his forehand stroke.

“HUUUUGE day for me yesterday, as I got to hit with Rafa Nadal! If you listen closely you can hear me grunting haha… Ang bigat ng bola (the ball was so heavy),” Eala wrote in his Facebook account.

In a video posted by the Instagram account Rafa Nadal Academy, it was seen that the Filipino tennis player was serving as Nadal’s forehand volley-mate during a session of Nadal’s training in preparation for the next tournaments after the US Open.

At the age of 17, Miko and his team will be eyeing for an international stint just like his sister Alex who recently made waves in the juniors’ tournament of two grand-slam events.