For the past three years, tennis fans have witnessed the emergence and rise of top WTA players like Mirra Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini, and Amanda Anisimova, among others, who have worked their way up the rankings and into the group of the top women's players in tennis today.
It seems this trend is continuing after the WTA's most recent rise of Victoria Mboko, who burst onto the scene during last year's National Bank Open (Masters 1000) in Montreal, which she won. All while this was happening, in the background, was Alex Eala, who was quietly trekking her way into the top 50.
Eala broke through at last year's Miami Open, reaching the semi-finals, and has since continued to rise, where she's certainly one of the top up-and-comers in women's tennis. That said, as good as Eala has been in the past year, she could be even better, and it all comes down to one vital part of every tennis player's game. If Eala fixes it, her window could open much sooner than expected.
Alexandra Eala's poor service game is her main crux; fixing it would catapult her forward
Eala won her second singles title earlier this month after capturing the Birmingham Classic on grass, and is about to follow that win up with kicking off her participation at the Berlin Open this week, after bowing out of the HSBC Championships in the Round of 16 in between.
June has been a busy month for Eala, but she's slipped to No. 35 in the WTA Rankings heading into Berlin. Eala has a lot going for her as she continues to make a name for herself on tour, and it goes far beyond her skill and talent, with her fanbase backing her all the way from the Philippines.
As far as skillset is concerned, Eala's strengths make for a lengthy list. Her strong forehand is by far her greatest asset, but her aggressive return game, high IQ shot variety, and focused composure are not far behind. Eala's ancillaries are elite-level, and there should be no surprise if she's not in the top 20 by the end of this year, and the top 10 by next year's end.
All that being said, there is one element to Eala's game that, while it may not be pinning her down, it may be holding her back, for now. Eala's serve is extremely underpowered and the worst in the top 50 according to WTA.com's serving leaderboard. While her first serve clocks in at 90-95 mph, her second serves are easy to defend, sitting in the 60-75 mph range.
Eala's second-serve win rate is below the WTA average, which results in her having to play defense all too often. Amazingly enough, Eala still wins a large number of her matches despite her poor serve, and her current ranking backs that success. For now, her serving issues are largely masked by her plethora of strengths. The question is, how much longer can she sustain this playing style?
Eala has all the potential in the world to compete for titles greater than the likes of the Birmingham and Berlin Opens. She has the right game to compete in Masters 1000 events and beyond. At some point, though, and there's no doubt she's working on it, Eala will have to improve her service game significantly.
It doesn't have to be the best. It doesn't even have to be elite. It does have to be better, though. For the sake of the prospect of watching another incredible talent on the WTA Tour make as much noise as Andreeva or Mboko are right now, or as Paolini has done in the last few years, let's hope Eala can reign in her serve. She's already very good, but she can be great.
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