Alexandra Eala has enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 season, but will be hugely driven to keep on improving.
After all, with all the support in the world no matter the tournament, the 20-year-old might soon start feeling obliged to back up the hype with some tangible success.
Fortunately for her endless supply of fans, the superstar from the Philippines is already making great strides this year, just one month in.
In fact, arguably her biggest flaw has shown marked improvement, and should now only get better.
Alexandra Eala’s big improvement in 2026
There’s no denying that Alexandra Eala’s greatest weakness is her serve. Frustratingly, that remains the case.
If she ever loses, it is usually due to her inability to hold her own serve more than anything; and yet, she’ll still fight for every ball.
What does Alexandra Eala need to improve in 2026 to challenge for a Grand Slam title?
Last season, Eala routinely served below 90mph on her first serve, offering her opponents an easy opportunity to lash it straight back at her.
For comparison, average first serve speed for female players generally sits around 105 mph, with Aryna Sabalenka’s numbers hovering around 110mph.
However, whilst only a small sample size, Eala has already exhibited that she is getting far more first serves in, and her percentages have gone up.
Comparing her first-round match at the US Open to her recent one at the Australian Open, the Filipina’s win percentage on her first serve had increased from 59% to 68%, and her second serve from 52% to 54%.
Ironically, that’s with a lower percentage of getting her first serve in, indicating she is being far more aggressive. She lost that Australian Open match, where her percentages were higher too.
This is not the only change Eala must make to continue her rise up the rankings.
Alexandra Eala still needs to fix her serve
Whilst Eala has made clear progress, she is still far from the finished article.
However, should she maintain this upward trajectory, particularly with the serve, the youngster is certain to be a threat for many elite titles in the years to come.
Does anybody else even come close to Alex Eala’s popularity right now?
After all, she routinely causes issues when returning, and plenty of times throughout 2025, she made matches competitive despite being unable to challenge on her own serve.
If she could merge that with a more fluid, powerful motion to gain easy points, the sky really is the limit for this Filipina sensation.
