Just In: Filipino Fans Left Confused as Alex Eala Is Brutally Warned Over a Critical ‘Problem’ Facing Her Tennis Career That Is ‘Hard to See’ with the Human Eye
Alex Eala’s serve is undoubtedly the weakest area of her game.
The Filipina has made great strides in 2026, breaking into the world’s top 20 and winning her first WTA Tour title.
However, her serve remains an issue, and many believe that, in its current form, it could hold Eala back from becoming a genuine Grand Slam contender.
Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, has now identified the main issue with Eala’s serve.
Rick Macci says the timing of Alex Eala’s ‘leg drive in sync with exact racket entry’ is off
Macci took to X to share his thoughts on Eala’s serve.
“The problem with [Alex] Eala and the serve is not the toss grip takeback power position or the pinpoint,” he said
The number one culprit on the WTA Tour with a lot of serves is the timing of the leg drive in sync with the exact racket entry is off between 10% and 100%.
“With the Philippine machine, it is off between 85% and 100%.
Hard to see with the human eye.
“The serve, if you do millions of anything, it will get better.
“But unless it is a counterintuitive action between the legs and racket, external and internal rotation are not maximized.”
Macci believes Eala needs to work on the timing of her serve, and the stats would agree with him.
Eala doesn’t rank inside the top 50 for any ‘positive’ serving stat this year.
Alex Eala’s serving stats (2026)
- Aces – 66 (54th on WTA Tour)
- Double faults – 123 (34th on WTA Tour)
- 1st Serve % – 63.2% (134th on WTA Tour)
- Win % on 1st Serve – 62.6% (111th on WTA Tour)
- 2nd Serve % – 47.5% (58th on WTA Tour)
- Win % on serve – 57.1% (72nd on WTA Tour)
- Break points saved % – 53.7% (126th on WTA Tour)
- Win % of service games – 66.7% (75th on WTA Tour)
If there is an area of her game that needs work, it’s the serve.
The good news for fans of the Filipina sensation is that she has recognised that.
After an hour-long practice session with former Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova in Cincinnati, Eala reportedly stayed behind working on her serve with her coaching team.
It’s that willingness to chase perfection that could see Eala continue to climb up the rankings over the coming months.
She could reach as high as 12th in the world by winning the upcoming Cincinnati Open.
Who will Alex Eala play in Cincinnati?
Competing as the 17th seed in Cincinnati, Eala has received a bye into the second round, where she will play Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Eala lost her one previous meeting with Ruse, at the 2024 US Open qualifying event, but currently sits 54 places above the Romanian in the world rankings and will arrive on court as a heavy favourite.
Unfortunately for Eala, she is unlikely to be nearly as big a favourite in any of her matches from the third round onwards.
The 21-year-old could play two-time Grand Slam finalist Amanda Anisimova in round three and this year’s Wimbledon champion, Linda Noskova, in the last 16.
Then, if she can pass those two tricky tests, she could meet Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals, Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals, and Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
If Eala is to win her first WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati and become the new world number 12, she will need to produce a level of tennis we haven’t yet seen from her.
And the serve will, of course, play a major role in her title bid.
It remains to be seen what Eala can achieve in Cincinnati, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
She will begin her Cincinnati Open campaign on Saturday, August 15.
