Rafael Nadal BREAKS SILENCE On Alex Eala After TIME100 Honor!

Rafael Nadal BREAKS SILENCE On Alex Eala After TIME100 Honor! For months after he retired, Rafael Nadal did not pick up a racket, until Alex Eala asked him to hit with her. Now the 22-time Grand Slam champion has told that story himself in his tribute to Eala on the TIME100 Next 2026 list, where she is the only tennis player named. In this video, we break down what Nadal chose to say first, what he left for the middle, and why his words read less like a compliment and more like a prediction. We look back at how a 13-year-old left the Philippines for the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2018, beat 3 Grand Slam champions in Miami at 19, won her first WTA title in Washington and climbed to world No. 18. Then we put Nadal's words to the hardest test of her season: a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Wang Xiyu in the Asian Games semifinal, barely a day after the list came out, and the bronze medal she took home. Next up: the Wuhan Open, October 12. This video is commentary based on publicly available reporting. Do you read Nadal's tribute as a compliment or a prediction, and how far do you think Alex Eala can go? #AlexEala #RafaelNadal #TIME100Next #WTA #Tennis #PhilippinesTennis