Alex Eala was encouraged to make a big change by Serena Williams’ former coach ahead of the Canadian Open fourth round.
Alex Eala has been making waves with her amazing performance recently, winning seven matches in a row after beating Caty McNally in the third round of the Canadian Open. It was a tough match for the 21-year-old, but she came through with a 2-1 win (6-3, 5-7, 6-4) against the world No. 70. Up next, she’ll play against Belinda Bencic.
This win adds to Eala’s earlier victory over Alycia Parks in the first round of the WTA 1000 event in Toronto. Before coming to Canada, Alex won her very first career title at the WTA 500 tournament in Washington DC, where she won five matches to take home the trophy.
Thanks to this fantastic streak of seven wins, she’s now ranked a career-high world No. 20. In her next match, she’ll meet Bencic, who is ranked No. 12. Before this big game, Rick Macci, who used to coach Serena and Venus Williams, shared his thoughts on Alex’s game. He believes she has what it takes to become a regular contender for titles.
Macci said on X (formerly Twitter), “Her movement is the secret to reaching the top. The PHILIPPINE MACHINE controls the game a lot, and when she doesn’t, her quickness and agility make up for it. No player is perfect, but Alex has enough power to stay close to the baseline and hit sharp angles. A top 5 ranking is within reach.”
Even though he praised her, Macci suggested Alex could improve her serve. “She’s winning a lot and has some of the best firepower we’ve seen. Opponents can try to take advantage of her movement, but her great ball striking usually wins out. If she can fix her serve to make it a real weapon, that will add even more to her game.”
Bencic, the Swiss star, entered the Canadian Open at the same round as Alex. She easily beat American Sloane Stephens in two sets in her first match and pulled off a strong comeback against Taylor Townsend, winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 to move forward.
The 29-year-old Bencic has won 10 career titles compared to Alex’s one, and she also has two Olympic medals—a gold for singles at the 2021 Tokyo Games and a silver in doubles. Bencic was last seen at Wimbledon, where she lost in the round of 16 in a three-set match against Coco Gauff.