Andrea Petkovic has called on the WTA to reconsider its “incredibly Western approach” in light of Alex Eala potentially getting fined for missing the China Open.
Eala chose to skip the 1000 event in Beijing late last month in favour of representing the Philippines at the 2026 Asian Games. Attendance at the Chinese tournament is mandatory, so with the 21-year-old deciding against competing there, she risks a ranking points penalty and a fine.
The left-hander ended up claiming a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Japan last week, at a time when it has yet to be officially announced whether or not she will be sanctioned.
Now, former top 10 player Petkovic has stressed how important this competition is for Asian athletes and that players who take part should get an exemption as it only comes around once every four years.
The German added that tennis has become a global sport, not just one that was “made by Americans and Europeans” in its embryonic days.
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She said on The Big T podcast, “I think it is an incredibly Western approach to this because the Asian Games are so important for these countries that take part and it’s as important, or maybe more important, in terms of representing your country than it is playing on the WTA Tour.
“The Tour was made by Americans and mostly Europeans back in the days when tennis was mostly played in Europe and American but times have changed.
“Tennis has become a global sport and Asia is one of the continents that has grown with Alex Eala, with Li Na in the past, with Qinwen Zheng. We have grown in Asia and you can’t take such a radical western approach to a Tour that is supposed global.
“You have to take into account that the Asian Games are very important to that part of the world and you have to respect that and I think rules are there to be amended when circumstances changes.
“I think if Alex Eala is a nice symbol for that because she has driven so much traffic to the Tour, that would be great news for everybody from those parts.”
Petkovic’s co-host, Mark Petchey, echoed her sentiments, saying that he hoped common sense prevailed with this matter. And such is Eala’s popularity, the Brit suggested that a rule change should be in order.
He said, “I think we should be allowed to insert an exemption here. Particularly for somebody that is driving so many new tennis fans to the sport. It’s building a legacy there.
“We’ve now got a WTA 250 [in Manila in 2027]. Alex has already got on the TIME100 most next influential stars of the game. I’m not sure next should go in there, I think she’s already one of the most influential stars in all sports at the moment with the kind of following that she has.
“I would like the Tour to go, ‘You don’t get a fine or a zero pointer and we will put into the rules going forward that anyone that plays the Asian Games in the same week as a mandatory event doesn’t get penalised’.”
According to Philippine Tennis Association executive director, Tonette Mendoza, Eala was not penalised by the WTA for skipping the China Open. Official confirmation of this is yet to occur.
Meanwhile, Eala is set to return to action next week at the Wuhan Open. The world No 19 will hope for a strong end to the season.
