Alex Eala might avoid a $10,000 penalty after a tricky WTA decision.
Everyone’s talking about Alex Eala at the Asian Games, and it’s not just because of how she’s playing.
She kicked off the tournament strong, crushing Patcharin Cheapchandej 6-1, 6-0 to reach the third round, where she’ll face world number 142 Joanna Garland. At 21, Alex also started her doubles matches with a big win alongside Shaira Rivera Ching, beating Laam Lai and Kallista Liu 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday.
Alex is the favorite to win the singles event, but she might face a fine from the WTA. This is because she chose not to play at the China Open—a required WTA 1000 event—to instead compete in the Asian Games, which is a huge international competition.
She could be fined up to $10,000 and lose ranking points for skipping Beijing. Still, the young star, who won her first WTA singles title at the Washington Open in August, was clear from the start that representing her country was more important, no matter the consequences.
Former Grand Slam winner Greg Rusedski thinks the WTA should use common sense and not fine her. On his podcast “Off Court with Greg Rusedski,” he said he believes the organization will make the right choice and grant her an exemption.
He explained, “Common sense isn’t very common these days, but sometimes you need exemptions. Playing the Asian Games is huge for her country, and winning a medal there is a big deal. I think they won’t fine her because you don’t want players missing big events, but sometimes something outside of the usual tournaments is really important—this is one of those times.”
Alex is aiming for her country’s first gold at the Asian Games, after winning bronze in 2022 with wins over Sarah Mahboob Khan, Rutuja Bhosale, and Kyoka Okamura.
Winning here would be a major milestone for her young career. But Alex dreams even bigger—she wants to win a Grand Slam someday.
Her most recent Grand Slam was the US Open, where she reached the last 16 before being beaten in three sets by close friend Iva Jovic.
Last week, she faced a surprise defeat to Tatiana Prozovora at the Singapore Open. When asked about areas to improve, tennis legend John McEnroe pointed out her serve as a weak spot.
He said, “If she wants to win a major, she has to improve her serve. It’s a weakness. It’s gotten better, but there’s still work to do.”
The stats back this up—during that loss, she had seven double faults and only won 52% of points on her first serve.