MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Philippine tennis siblings Alex and Miko Eala have been pulled out of their respective tournaments by the Rafael Nadal Academy due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has been declared a pandemic.
"The Rafa Nadal Academy has ordered all travelling players and coaches back to the Academy amid the COVID threat," their father Mike Eala told Rappler in a text message.
Both siblings are students of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain with Miko slated to graduate this year. (FAST FACTS: Who is teen tennis sensation Alex Eala?)
"Class are not suspended as they are in a contained environment within the academy," added Mike.
After making it to the second round of her first women's tournament, Alex was slated to compete in the opening round of the W15 Monastir Magic Tours on Wednesday, March 11, but was pulled out of the competition last minute.
Miko, on the other hand, was already in the quarterfinal of the J2 Santo Domingo Copa Merengue tournament.
After attaining a career-high world No. 4 juniors ranking, Alex has been fulfilling her 2020 goal of playing in a mix of high-level juniors and women's tournaments, and will be guaranteed a slot in the main draw of the junior Grand Slams. (READ: Alex Eala: Bringing out her champion pedigree)
The Filipina teen tennis star bagged the championship in the 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles tournament with Indonesian Priska Nugroho as her partner last January. – Rappler.com
