Rafael Nadal's influence at the US Open continues as players from his tennis academy reach finals

Rafael Nadal may be out of the US Open but his influence lingers in New York, as Alex Eala and Martin Landaluce, two players from his academy, have reached the finals of the junior tournament.

Eala has been a student at the Rafa Nadal Academy since she was 12 years old and entered the girls' singles event at the US Open as the 10th seed.

The 17-year-old started the competition by defeating Canada's Annabelle Xu 6-3, 6-0 in the opening round and followed it up with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Nina Vargova.

She booked her place in the semifinals with a 6-2, 7-6(1) win over eighth seed Taylah Preston and a 6-4, 6-0 defeat of 14th seed Mirra Andreeva. Here, the Filipina beat ninth seed Victoria Mboko 6-1, 7-6(5) to reach her first Grand Slam final at any level.

Eala will be up against second seed Lucie Havlickova for the girls' singles title at the US Open.

Meanwhile, Landaluce has had to grind his way to the boys' singles final. The Spaniard was seeded fifth in the tournament and beat local boy Hudson Rivera 7-6(4), 6-3 in the first round before triumphing 6-4, 6-4 over Patrick Brady.

Landaluce then survived scares from Peter Privara and Alexander Blockx to book his place in the semifinals. Here, he beat top-seeded Paraguayan Daniel Vallejo to reach the final, where he will be up against second seed Gilles-Arnaud Bailly.

In the men's singles tournament, Casper Ruud sealed his place in the US Open final by beating Karen Khachanov 7-6, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. The Norwegian has been training at Rafael Nadal's academy since 2018.

Ruud will not only fight for his maiden Grand Slam title in the final but also the top spot in the ATP rankings. He will be confirmed as the new World No. 1 if Carlos Alcaraz loses his semifinal against Frances Tiafoe. If Alcaraz beats Tiafoe, the winner of the championship match will also take the top spot in the rankings.

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Rafael Nadal will return to action at Laver Cup following US Open exit

Rafael Nadal was eliminated in the fourth round of the US Open

Rafael Nadal, seeded second at the US Open, was eliminated in the fourth round after losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Frances Tiafoe. The 36-year-old will now look to prepare himself as well as he can for the forthcoming tournaments, namely the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.

Before that, Nadal will play in the Laver Cup as part of Team Europe. While the King of Clay was on course to return to the top of the ATP rankings, Ruud reaching the final in New York means he will have to wait for some time before that happens.