Alex Eala enjoyed a solid Sunshine Swing, dealing with the huge pressure that came with her first defence of serious ranking points.
Her semi-final in Miami last year was the catalyst that kick-started her career, which has since catapulted her to new heights.
However, despite her huge following and the obvious potential she boasts, there are still glaring weaknesses that are preventing her from speeding up her already incredible rise.
Fortunately for both her and her legion of fans, Alexandra Eala has already made a decision ahead of the clay-court swing, which could help solve one of her greatest drawbacks.
Alex Eala pictured training with Toni Nadal ahead of clay-court season
After all, the 20-year-old has been pictured training at the Rafa Nadal Academy, of which she is a proud graduate.
However, what was particularly interesting was the coach overseeing her progress.
Whilst Rafael Nadal was busy giving tips to Iga Swiatek, Eala was instead blessed with the presence of Toni Nadal, the legendary coach of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
He has been vocal about Eala and what he feels is best for her development ever since her emergence onto the WTA Tour.
And now, he will get the chance to enact these ideas.
What Toni Nadal said about Alex Eala’s key weakness last year
The true benefit of Nadal overseeing her training of late is the fact that he clearly knows where she needs to improve.
At times, it takes outside counsel to provide insight that is tough to point out when working with a player every single day.
What does Alexandra Eala need to improve in 2026 to challenge for a Grand Slam title?
Speaking about Eala last year, during what was her breakout year, Nadal claimed: “It is true that she still has ups and downs, like in the 2-0 in the second set, where she needed to be a bit more aggressive with the serve, which made her falter a bit, but these things are typical of her age.”
Now, nearly a year on, that same weakness on the serve remains.
The fact that he has already publicly identified that shows that Eala has made the perfect decision to bring him in, even briefly, to hopefully fast-track her development.
