Alex Eala backed to improve in three key areas in ‘optimistic’ verdict after top 20 ranking comment
US Open runner-up Greg Rusedski has said he is “always optimistic” about Alex Eala and backed the Filipina star to improve in three key areas.
Eala fell to a convincing 6-1, 6-4 defeat to world No 25 Leylah Fernandez in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart on Tuesday. She was making her debut at the WTA 500 tournament on indoor clay.
The 20-year-old began her clay season at the WTA 500 in Linz last week, where she beat Julia Grabher before losing to Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
The world No 45 practised on clay with four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, and in Stuttgart.
On the latest episode of his Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast, Rusedski discussed the impact of Eala training with Swiatek and spending time at Nadal’s academy.
“No question [that practising with Swiatek will help Eala],” said the former world No 4.
“They had this lovely picture where they showed them at the [Rafa Nadal Academy] graduation ceremony for Eala. And Swiatek was the one giving the speech for the day.
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“For me, it’s great to step up the level. You want to see if you can do it with the very best at the highest level. And she’s beaten Swiatek already. She’s beaten a lot of great players. Why not?
“For me, I’m always optimistic about her. I always think she’s challenging herself. She has a great team of people around her. She’s fully committed and she’s got great support.
“And everything’s kind of new at the moment. We’ve talked about, yes, the serve needs to be better. Yes, when she comes [up against] a big hitter, sometimes she struggles and gets hit off the court. But you gotta consistently put yourself out there.
“She’s gonna get stronger physically, she’s gonna get more tactically astute, she’s gonna start hitting the ball harder. And she’s got a great training facility. So there’s no reason why she can’t add those areas.
“And the team around her is very good. When you have Rafa as your adviser, it doesn’t get any better (smiles).”
Rusedski recently expressed his hope that Eala could break into the top 20 for the first time during the clay season.
“I’d love to see her in the top 20; she is great for the WTA,” the former British No 1 said on his podcast. “We need more stars, we need more names, and we need new people. And she opens up a marketplace, and people just love her.
“Automatically, her matches sell out, and for me, she is a huge, huge positive. I’d love to see her, on this surface, crack the top 20 in the world.”
