Alex Eala’s surprising early exit at the Singapore Open shows she still has big challenges to overcome in an important part of her game.
Alex Eala has been told she needs to work on an important part of her game if she wants to reach the “next level” after a surprising loss at the Singapore Open.
The 21-year-old started the Asian Swing with a tough defeat, losing 2-1 to world No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova. This continued a rough patch for Eala, who has only won five of her last nine matches since claiming her first WTA singles title at the Washington Open in August.
Her match against Prozorova was full of excitement and twists, with a big crowd cheering her on. But Alex struggled to perform under pressure. One key stat showed her difficulties clearly: over the three-hour match, she only won six of 17 break points, while her opponent had 12 chances and converted seven.
A known challenge for Eala is her serve, and this match showed that again. She had seven double faults and won just 52% of points on her first serve. This was similar to her US Open loss to Iva Jovic, where she was broken nine times.
Her unusual serving style has even caught the attention of legendary player John McEnroe. He says Eala won’t reach the top unless she turns this weakness into a strength.
“The sky’s the limit for her,” McEnroe said. “But in tennis, you need the full package — good movement, athleticism, and a strong serve. To reach the very top, she needs to bring all these parts together.”
When asked what she should improve most, McEnroe pointed straight to her serve: “It’s a liability. It’s better than before, but there’s still room to grow.”
This loss marked Eala’s first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 100 since 2025, when she lost to world No. 305 Claire Liu. After her recent setback, Eala said she plans to review the match carefully.
“I think Tatiana played really well today,” she said. “I have to accept that maybe she played better, and I need to take the time to learn from it. I gave my all, but my team and I will figure out what went wrong and work hard to improve.”
Alex’s next tournament starts on October 6, when she will compete at the Wuhan Open in China. She’s already focused on coming back stronger.