Alex Eala has been backed to crack the top 10 for the first time in her career next year, but a legendary coach has stopped short of predicting a maiden Grand Slam triumph.
Eala started the year in 50th in the WTA Tour rankings, but now she is inside the world’s top 20, and she has no plans to stop there.
Her first WTA Tour title win in Washington, where she beat top three seeds Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, and Naomi Osaka along the way, is the standout moment, but a fourth-round run at Wimbledon – where she knocked out defending champion Iga Swiatek – will also live long in the memory.
Ex-players and coaches alike have raised concerns about the effectiveness of her serve, with the 21-year-old’s first delivery ranking well outside the top 50.
However, Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, thinks the world No 19 can still catapult herself into the top 10 if she makes some tweaks to her serve, while her ability to take the ball early and be deadly off the return will help, too.
More Alex Eala News
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
Macci, who also coached Andy Roddick and Venus Williams, wrote on X, “The Philippine Machine will sky rocket into the top ten next year because of her rockets. Like every player she has unreal strengths and a few items on her menu that will improve.
“The way she plays the ball and cuts the court she takes it earlier off both wings than [any] player in the sport. Her clean ball striking/return of serve, along with a calming gene, will always be the big ticket items for for Flying Philippine Machine.”
Eala, who has a career high of 18, is currently 17th in the WTA Tour Race with 2,181 points. The left-hander will hope to have a strong run at next week’s Wuhan Open, as a successful time on the court there could fire her closer to the top 10.
Diana Shnaider is 12th in the race with 2,408 points so if Eala can go deep at the WTA 1000 event, the top 10 could be within her grasp early in 2027.
READ NEXT: ‘The hill I’ll die on’ – Alex Eala opens up on ‘heavy’ fan pressure and relishes challenge ahead
