Alex Eala has addressed criticism regarding her serve, specifically comments made by Rennae Stubbs, a former coach to Serena Williams and ex-doubles World No. 1. Stubbs had identified Eala's serve as a weakness that could hinder her Grand Slam aspirations.
Undeterred by the analysis, Eala is enjoying a career-best season on Tour. On Saturday, she defeated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka to reach the final of the Mubadala DC Open. During her post-match press conference, Eala was asked about the discussion surrounding her serve.
Eala expressed a more positive outlook, acknowledging that while she would welcome a serve speed of 200 kmph, her current variety makes it a dependable weapon. She also noted that there is always room for improvement and did not rule out increasing her serve speed in the future.
"I think that my serve can be uncomfortable. I think I try to play around a lot with variety," Alex Eala stated in her press conference. "Of course, it would be great if I had a serve that went 200 kilometres per hour. I'd love that also, but it's a process. Who knows? I'm not going to put a cap on my serve. Maybe I will one day serve 200. You never know."
She further elaborated, "I like to look at it as a multi-dimensional thing. I have a variety of weapons in my bag. I think it's also a good thing that I don't rely on my serve alone, although I'm standing by that it's dependable sometimes."
Alex Eala, who is already sitting at a career-high ranking of World No. 28, is having a standout year. Her performance at the Mubadala DC Open has been dominant, with victories over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, last year's winner Leylah Fernandez, second seed Elina Svitolina, and Naomi Osaka. She is set to face top seed Jesssica Pegula in the final, eyeing her biggest title so far.
This year has already been significant for Eala, marked by her first Grand Slam second-week appearance at Wimbledon and a WTA125k title in Birmingham. Regardless of the outcome in the DC final, she is projected to enter the world's top 25 rankings on Monday.
Irrespective of her result in the DC final, she will break into the top-25 of the world rankings on Monday.
