Who is Alex Eala’s coach? Joan Bosch guiding teen star’s rise to the top

Oli Dickson Jefford 24 Apr 2025 11:28 AM

Pictured: Alex Eala waits to return a serve.

Alex Eala in action.

Alex Eala’s rise up the WTA Rankings has been one of the biggest stories of 2025 to date.

The Filipina’s run at the Miami Open in March 2025 propelled the 19-year-old inside the top 100 for the very first time, becoming the first woman from her nation to hit that milestone.

Eala beat Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek during a phenomenal surge in Miami, and is now set for significant breakthroughs later this season.

She is set to make her Grand Slam main draw debut at the French Open, and could be in line for Wimbledon and US Open debuts later in the year.

Her connection to the Rafa Nadal Academy is well know, but she has recently been guided in particular by Joan Bosch.

Here, we take you through all there is to know about the man guiding Eala’s recent rise.

Playing and coaching career

Bosch briefly pursued a playing career during the 1990s, though his involvement with tennis has largely seen him involved with coaching.

His best-known work is with that of Spanish great Carlos Moya, coaching the former world No 1 during his starring role in Spain’s 2004 Davis Cup win, and to multiple titles on the ATP Tour.

He is also well associated with his spell at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where he is one of the head coaches.

Bosch is currently detailed as the U18 head coach at the academy in Manacor, which first launched in 2016.

Alongside Nadal himself, other prominent figures involved with the academy include Moya, Toni Nadal, and former WTA star Anabel Medina Garrigues.

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Work with Eala

Despite taking on a leading role at the Rafa Nadal Academy, Bosch has been Eala’s travelling coach in recent weeks,

The Filipina graduated from the academy back in 2023 and has been working her way up the WTA Rankings ever since then.

Eala was ranked 140th heading into the Miami Open last month and had previously peaked at world No 134 in the WTA Rankings, though her run propelled her to a new career-high of 75th.

The Filipina is now on the cusp of cracking the top 70 and is among a small handful of teenagers inside the top 100 of the WTA Rankings.

Speaking to Punto de Break at the Madrid Open, Bosch was full of immense praise for his charge – and backed her for a big future.

He said: “At the Academy, we’re clear that this is a special project, because it’s also borne the hallmark of the Rafa Nadal Academy, ever since she arrived at the age of 12.

“If we didn’t see it with that enthusiasm, it wouldn’t work. Alex is young, talented, and has a lot to improve, which is ultimately what we coaches like. Sometimes when they bring us a very accomplished player, you don’t know what to say to her.

“With all the room for improvement, it’s normal to have that tendency to look beyond to see where we can go.

“The project is going well, but it’s not me who’s the reason. I have a lot of trust in all the coaches who work at the Academy. Thanks to them, I’m able to implement a few details in these tournaments.

“For me, it was a surprise to achieve what we achieved in Miami. I always knew she could be in the top 100, but it all happened very quickly.

“I trusted Alex from the beginning, although Toni Nadal was the first to suggest her to me. She’s a very intelligent person, very coachable, although it’s also true that everything goes very well for her.”