Alex Eala’s decision to play the 2026 Asian Games has been a big talking point, as it clashes with the penultimate Masters event on the WTA Tour calendar.

Eala will not be able to play the China Open due to her commitment to try and win Asian Games gold for the Philippines.

WTA stars are required to play every Masters event on the calendar unless they are injured, which means Eala could receive a fine from the tennis authorities.

Eala asked for exemption from the WTA Tour, but it was rejected, which means a sanction could be imminent for one of the most popular players on the WTA Tour.

Steve Johnson, John Isner, and Sam Querrey believe it would be a major mistake for the WTA Tour to brandish Eala with a fine.

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“1000% she should play [the Asian Games], said Johnson on Nothing Major. “If the WTA fine her, that is the dumbest thing that they could do. Do not fine her.

“I know that they have not made exceptions in the past for certain players, but there is different rules for everyone. I hate to say it, but there just is.”

Isner added: “I’m with you. They should waive the fine. Her ranking is going to dip by virtue of not playing.”

Querrey was in full agreement with his other two co-hosts.

“They also need stars and she is one of the biggest,” he explained. “They have a lot of leverage going into an individual sport. If she goes ‘if you guys fine me, I will skip more tournaments’.

“Let’s see how it goes [if she says] I will skip the other tournaments in Asia, where she is going to be the biggest star.”

Several of the top ranked Chinese stars, including Wang Xinyu, have opted to play the China Open instead of the Asian Games, which will not help Eala’s cause.

Nevertheless, Eala has become one of the WTA Tour’s biggest headline-grabbers and she has packed-out stadiums all around the globe in the 2026 season.

That included at the Australian Open and the Middle Eastern swing, where she had queues coming out of the stadiums for each of her matches.

She was also a hit on the North American hardcourt swing, which was buoyed by her very first WTA Tour title at the Washington Open.

It would be a big mistake for the WTA to bite the hand that feeds them by doing something that could draw the ire of Eala – and her passionate fans.