Rennae Stubbs believes that Alex Eala is in with a shot at striking gold at the upcoming 2026 WTA Player Awards following her efforts this year.
Eala started the year down in 50th in the WTA Tour rankings but has worked her way up to a career-high of 17 as the 2026 season nears its finale.
The 21-year-old made it to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time after reaching the halfway point at Wimbledon and won her first WTA Tour title in Washington this summer.
As she aims to end her campaign on a high by winning the Hong Kong Open this week, former world No 1 women’s doubles player Stubbs has given her take on the standout players in women’s tennis in 2026.
Serena Williams’ coach said without hesitation that the Player of the Year award has to go to world No 1 and Australian Open and US Open champion Elena Rybakina.
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The Australian initially put forward Eala for the Most Improved Player category, before changing to Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, with the 21-year-old Czech winning her first major this year.
Stubbs also gave a shoutout to 18-year-old and world No 53 Lilli Tagger and 16-year-old Xinran Sun, who sits at 321st in the rankings, as the best Newcomer of the Year. However, she did feel that maybe Eala should win this one, even if she has been a known quantity for nearly two years now.
She said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, “Let’s start with the Player of the Year. Elena Rybakina, without question. No 1 player in the world, wins the Australian Open, the US Open, boom, shut the door, it’s over.
“Most improved player, that’s a tough one. I probably have to say Alex Eala; what she’s achieved this year, getting to 17 in the world.
“You could throw in a Linda Noskova, who has been knocking at the door for about a year or two and came ever so close to making another final at the US Open after winning Wimbledon. So I maybe give her a bit of an edge after winning a major title, so Linda Noskova, for me, is the most improved.
“And maybe Newcomer of the Year, we give it to Eala. She hasn’t been on Tour for that long; I know a year and a half. I guess technically it has to be someone who has come out and made a name for themselves. Maybe Tagger as well. Also the 16-year-old (Sun) from China. There have been some interesting situations there.”
Stubbs has been quite critical of Eala’s serve, arguing that that shot in its current guise will prevent her from winning a Grand Slam. The Filipina has gone up in her estimation since winning the Washington title in a star-studded field, but still thinks her serve has to improve.
Moreover, her co-host, Caitlin Thompson, felt that Eala would be a deserving winner of the Most Improved Player award, as world No 8 Noskova ended last year at 13th in the rankings, so she was already knocking on the door.
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