Alex Eala told where she needs to improve by former British No 1 as a worrying trend emerges

Kevin Palmer 25 Mar 2026 3:00 PM

Alex Eala and Greg Rusedski

Alex Eala’s rise to prominence at the top of the women’s game is showing no sign of waning, but she has developed a worrying trend in her last three defeats.

The Filipina star will be keen to halt a run of heavy defeats when she resumes her season on clay courts next month, with her 6-2, 6-0 thumping at the hands of Karolina Muchova in Miami Open the latest heavy defeat handed out to the 20-year-old.

Muchova has the class to dismiss any opponent when she is at her best, but the manner of the defeat will be a concern for Eala.

It backed up a 6-2, 6-0 defeat against Linda Noskova in the WTA 1000 tournament at Indian Wells earlier in April and a crushing 6-0, 6-2 defeat against Coco Gauff in Dubai in February.

Now former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has suggested Eala needs to add some power to her serve and some weight to her ground strokes, as he reflected on her recent performances in the latest edition of his Off Court Cuts podcast.

More Tennis News

Alex Eala names three world No 1’s as she reveals her dream tennis rivals

Why Alex Eala has a big advantage over Victoria Mboko in one key area

“Eala is getting into the later stages of tournaments, but once she gets there, she’s getting beaten in pretty one-sided matches,” said Rusedski.

“I think she needs to improve the serve. The serve, you know, gets you on the front foot from the start and she’s gonna need to get physically stronger. You know, she’s got to get more time in the gym, build up the muscles, get a little bit quicker. Then she’ll start hitting the ball harder.

“She’s still young. Let’s not forget that. She’s still very young and many more years to develop. And I think she’s too good a player not to make it into the top 10.

“The good thing is she has a good attitude. She’s working hard, but you you don’t want to create this scar tissue when you’re playing the top girls and you’re losing so easily at times.

“I think she will get over that hump. She’s too good and she’s putting in the effort and she is great for the WTA.”

Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.

The interest in Eala shows no sign of waning, even thought she is facing a slide in the WTA Rankings after her fourth round exit at the Miami Open.

While that run in Florida was a decent effort from Eala, ranking points are dropping off her record as she failed to match her impressive run to the semi-finals in Miami last year.

The positive news for Eala is she has very few ranking points to defend during the upcoming clay court season and that will fuel her hopes of getting back into the top 32 of the rankings to ensure she is seeded for the second Grand Slam of the season at Roland Garros in May.