Alex Eala’s stunning rise to global prominence has sent a thrilling bolt of inspiration through the WTA Tour, but the Filipina hero has admitted she is running close to empty in her energy reserves after an exhaustive run of successive.
At the age of 21, Eala has gone from being a rising star of the women’s game to an A-list superstar after she beat defending champion Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and back that up by winning her first WTA Tour title in Washington earlier this month.
The attention and excitement around Eala has not been seen before in the women’s game for a player who has yet to lift a Grand Slam title or even get into the top ten of the WTA Rankings.
Canadian Open chiefs have admitted in recent days that Eala needs to be put on their main show court in Toronto due to the unprecedented demand to watch her matches, with wildly enthusiastic crowds in attendance for her opening two wins.
While all of this adulation around Eala is great for the sport and will fill the player at the centre of this headline-grabbing story with joy, it will also be a lot to take on board for a young girl who has quickly been elevated to the ranks of the sporting superstars.
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Dealing with the attention coming her way will not be easy and she is also playing more tennis than she has done at any stage of her professional career as she continues to win matches.
So while an end to this thrilling run is not what Eala’s huge fanbase or Canadian Open organisers want as they ride this wave of ‘Alexmania’, it might be the best outcome for the player at the centre of this joyous cacophony.
With her five wins in Washington and the two she has recorded in Toronto, Eala has already had more than enough time on court to prepare her for what lies ahead at the US Open, where her new status will be on display on a Grand Slam stage for the first time.
We can expect order of play decision makers to put Eala on the headline-grabbing night session at Flushing Meadows for the first time this year, with her A-list status set to go to the next level when she is given the glitzy New York treatment.
So the last thing anyone in tennis needs at this stage of the Eala wave is an injury to our new golden girl and that has to be a danger as she racks up the match wins.
Medical staff in football often talk about players entering the ‘red zone’ when a player is showing signs of fatigue, with muscle injuries more likely to occur.
The problem with tennis is there is no opportunity to rest for a couple of games and allow your team-mates to carry the load while your body recovers.
This sport is relentless, unforgiving and the drive to avoid defeat often pushes athletes through a pain and physical barrier that can lead to injury.
Eala had a scare in her last match in Toronto as she tweaked her ankle and those little niggles can mount to a point that one eventually becomes a problem.
With the Cincinnati Open on the horizon before the US Open, tennis chiefs will be hoping this Eala euphoria is not halted by an unwelcome injury reality as we need the sport’s new hero to lead the WTA Tour charge for years to come.
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