Experience leads to consistency

Within a year, tennis darling Alex Eala went from World No. 140 to No. 29 on the heels of a sensational run at the Miami Open where she reached the semifinals, final appearance at the Eastbourne Open, first round win at the US Open, a final victory at the Guadalajara Open, gold medal finish at the SEA Games, quarterfinal stint at the Abu Dhabi Open and fourth round advance at the Indian Wells Open.

Fans expected Eala to continue her ascent when the clay season began last month but it hasn’t been too rosy lately. Eala exited in the second round in Linz, first in Stuttgart, second in Madrid, third in Rome and first in Strasbourg. Let’s not forget that Eala turns only 21 on Saturday, the day before the French Open reels off. For what she’s done so far, Eala has been nothing less than phenomenal. Critics should understand that she’s still learning the ropes, that there will be ups and downs at this early stage of her pro career.

Tennis rankings are constantly changing. From No. 29, Eala dropped to No. 45 then up to No. 38. Players are forever scrambling to get ahead of each other in a dog-eat-dog climb to the top. Experience will lead to consistency on the tour and at the moment, Eala is still navigating the route to stay tough at every turn, against any opponent, no matter the venue, regardless of what’s on the line. To be sure, there are marked improvements in her game. Eala’s groundstrokes are more powerful, more precise. Her angles guide the ball deep into the corners. Her anticipation, footwork, conditioning and serves are a notch higher than before. She’s more aggressive rushing the net and her overhead smashes, passing shots and winners are deadlier. What will sharpen Eala is experience, meaning more matches against quality opponents with varying styles.

This year, Eala has grown from losing to stars like World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan (6-4, 6-3 in Rome), World No. 19 Elise Mertens of Belgium (6-2, 6-1 in Madrid) and World No. 25 Leylah Fernandez of Canada (6-1, 6-4 in Stuttgart). Rybakina, 26, is a two-time Grand Slam champion. Mertens, 30, was a 2018 Australian Open semifinalist and has bankrolled over $18.8 million in earnings. Fernandez, 23, was a 2021 US Open finalist and 2024 Paris Olympian.

Last Monday, Eala faced World No. 66 Oleksandra Oliynykova in the first round at Strasbourg. She never encountered anyone quite like the Ukrainian whose unorthodox style was a puzzler. Oliynykova pinned Eala close to the baseline with moonball lobs, delivered a corkscrew serve, once made a surprise underhanded serve that was returned out, sliced drop shots and went after balls like her life depended on every retrieve. She did leg splits, bruised both knees and recoiled from a 3-6 first set fall to win the next two, 7-5, 6-3. Oliynykova’s career earnings of $66,769 are way below Eala’s $1.98 million but the disparity in their bank accounts meant nothing on the court. Eala displayed true grit in battling through 14 deuces in the last three games of the first set, recovered from 0-4 to level at 5-5 in the second and saved 15 of 23 break points. She was ahead, 3-2, in the third then Oliynykova swept the last four games to clinch it. Eala would’ve probably won under usual circumstances but Oliynykova was particularly inspired as she fought to reach the second round for her father Denis, stationed on the Ukrainian front in the war against Russia for two years, to watch her on a brief leave from the battlefield. The loss was another learning experience for Eala, something she will bring to the French Open main draw.