{"id":45219,"date":"2025-04-30T08:14:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T08:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45219"},"modified":"2025-04-30T08:14:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T08:14:34","slug":"rafael-nadal-drops-1-word-reaction-as-alexandra-eala-earns-nelly-kordas-nod-with-her-golf-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45219","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal Drops 1-Word Reaction as Alexandra Eala Earns Nelly Korda\u2019s Nod With Her Golf Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">What\u2019s there that rising Filipino phenom\u00a0<strong>Alexandra Eala<\/strong>\u00a0can\u2019t do? Slaying grand slam-winning giants? Done. Breaking into the top 100? Accomplished. The Miami Open breakout star, who made history at the WTA 1000 event by reaching the semis last month, is poised to witness success in the racket sport. No doubt about it. But what if we tell you she\u2019s got another hidden talent? It seems she\u2019s following in the footsteps of her idol and 22-time slam king\u00a0<strong><a class=\"es-hyperlink-new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/tag\/rafael-nadal\/\/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=website_internal&amp;utm_campaign=web_link_0\" target=\"_self\">Rafael Nadal<\/a><\/strong>. How? After hanging up his racket last year, he\u2019s embraced the world of golf actively. And now, Eala\u2019s shown her stroke play to let everyone know she can do much more than swing a racket. Obviously, her idol and 14-time Roland Garros champion is in awe after witnessing Eala\u2019s special skills!<\/p>\n<div id=\"scroll-1\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Nadal has, time and again, reiterated how much he loves<em>\u00a0\u201cthe game of golf in general.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Remember, after saying goodbye to a 20-year-long career, he competed at the FGB Hexagonal Q-Romia Circuit at Club de Golf Son Servera? The former king of clay managed to finish 8th at the event where there were close to 80 participants. Nadal got 76 strokes (four above par) which is impressive for a non-pro. Moreover, he\u2019s also competed in the Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship three times already in the last four years!<\/p>\n<div id=\"scroll-2\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">In a recent IG video, shared by WTA\u2019s official account on April 29, Eala \u2013 who graduated from Nadal\u2019s tennis academy in Mallorca \u2013 was seen trying her hands at golf. In fact, the entire crew was there to film her. The producer asked,\u00a0<em>\u201cDo you play golf?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0To this, the 2025 Miami Open semifinalist revealed,\u00a0<em>\u201cI have played one time. Driving range. With my brother.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Before showing her club-swinging skills, she raved about her abilities saying,<em>\u00a0\u201cProfessional at work guys.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-c38414d905178a44 instagram-container instagram_instagram-container__A0OSr\"><iframe id=\"instagram-embed-0\" class=\"jsx-c38414d905178a44 instagram-media instagram-media-rendered\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DJCcIClOxKC\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=538&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.essentiallysports.com&amp;rp=%2Fwta-tennis-news-golf-news-rafael-nadal-drops-one-word-reaction-as-alexandra-eala-earns-nelly-korda-s-nod-with-her-golf-skills%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A14355.600000023842%2C%22ls%22%3A14002.900000095367%2C%22le%22%3A14324.5%7D\" height=\"737\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-instgrm-payload-id=\"instagram-media-payload-0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"engagement\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"quiz_quizContainer__i7tFQ\">\n<div class=\"quiz_flex__u01wS\">\n<div class=\"quiz_timer__IGzCK\">\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">The team then reached the spot where Eala grabbed the club. There were no balls available, however. But as Eala wrote in the comments,\u00a0<em>\u201cNo ball, no problem\ud83c\udfcc\ufe0f\u200d\u2640\ufe0f,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0she simply took the club and swung it in style as if she were hitting an actual ball. The crew\u2019s reaction indicated she did a good job.\u00a0<em>\u201cAh, that\u2019s not bad at all!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Interestingly, she then urged renowned professional golfer Nelly Korda to take notice of her skills,\u00a0<em>\u201cNelly Korda, please.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0She geared up to swing the club once again, remarking,\u00a0<em>\u201cOkay, watch this, watch this. Was that good?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>The Filipino was seen giving a fist pump while feeling proud of her golf-swinging talent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">A candid moment occurred in the end as the crew informed her again<em>, \u201cSorry, we don\u2019t have any balls here.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Eala simply replied,<em>\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s alright. You can edit them in.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Surprisingly, her tennis idol and passionate golfer Nadal didn\u2019t take long to spot this clip. Being in awe of Eala\u2019s unseen talent, the ex-ATP icon simply dropped a\u00a0<em>\u201c\ud83d\udc40\u201d<\/em>\u00a0emoji in the comments. But wait, there\u2019s more to this! Seems like Eala did manage to attract Korda\u2019s attention too! Really? Well, yes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">It wasn\u2019t just the tennis GOAT who was left speechless with Alexandra Eala\u2019s golf skills. LPGA\u2019s 14-time winner and World No.1 golfer\u00a0<strong><a class=\"es-hyperlink-new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/tag\/nelly-korda\/\/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=website_internal&amp;utm_campaign=web_link_0\" target=\"_self\">Nelly Korda<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0also made a cameo in the comments section. How come?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Apparently, Eala\u2019s apparel brand and $120 billion Nike tagged Korda to have a look at the Filipino\u2019s abilities. Nike\u2019s official account wrote,\u00a0<em>\u201cNot too shabby, what do you think\u00a0@nellykorda?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>And guess what?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Nelly actually reached out to Eala in the comments section, while giving a pro golf tip as well. Tagging the 19-year-old, the 26-year-old legend wrote,\u00a0<em>\u201cLooks good!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0while cheekily adding,\u00a0<em>\u201cBut we need to work on your tempo and balance @alex.eala \ud83e\udd2a\u201d\u00a0<\/em>What else can you wish for? Simply amazing, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Looks like Eala\u2019s honing her golf skills well right now. But what about the tennis action going forward this season? Well, she will soon appear on the court once again. Her Madrid Open journey ended sooner than expected last week. Five-time slam queen and former World No.1 Iga Swiatek took her revenge on the Filipino and ousted her in R64 with a score line of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. For the uninitiated, in their maiden WTA meeting, at the Miami Open, Eala had edged out the Pole, in the QF, with a score line of 6-2, 7-5.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Speaking of Eala\u2019s next tournament, it will be the Italian Open. After that, the teenage sensation will finally accomplish her dream of making a slam debut. She\u2019s confirmed to appear at the 2025 French Open. Thanks to breaking into the top 100 (currently No.72), the entry list features her name among other participants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What\u2019s there that rising Filipino phenom\u00a0Alexandra Eala\u00a0can\u2019t do? Slaying grand slam-winning giants? Done. Breaking into the top 100? Accomplished. The Miami Open breakout star, who made history&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rafael Nadal Drops 1-Word Reaction as Alexandra Eala Earns Nelly Korda\u2019s Nod With Her Golf Skills - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45219\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal Drops 1-Word Reaction as Alexandra Eala Earns Nelly Korda\u2019s Nod With Her Golf Skills - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What\u2019s there that rising Filipino phenom\u00a0Alexandra Eala\u00a0can\u2019t do? 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