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Greg Rusedski has outlined the first thing a player should do when preparing to face Alex Eala.

This year just keeps on getting better for the 21-year-old after she lifted the Washington Open trophy following a three-set comeback win over Jessica Pegula.

The American took the first set 6-4 before rain and lightning halted play when Eala was 2-1 up in the second on Sunday. Play resumed on Monday, and Pegula ended up winning just three more games in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory for the Filipina.

The unseeded youngster became the first player from her country to win a WTA Tour title, a result that saw her crack the top 20 in the rankings for the first time.

After her triumph, she said, “I feel so much love. I knew whatever happened, this match would have already been a win for me. My first chance at a title, knowing it won’t be the last, and already [I’ve] achieved this milestone for my career.”

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Despite all the excitement around Eala, she still has her detractors. Although she is now in the top 20, her serving stats are well outside the top 50. Indeed, Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, thinks she won’t win a Grand Slam with that in her arsenal.

However, Rusedski thinks that relative weakness can be sharpened up, with the former British No 1 backing Eala to make some serving improvements ahead of the 2027 season.

While Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s coach has called her the “most exciting” player on the women’s tour, with a great mentality and return game, the former US Open finalist would encourage her opponents to always make the Filipina serve first in a match to potentially knock her confidence.

He said on the latest episode of Off Court with Greg Rusedski, “I think that’s [Eala’s serve] something that she can work on in the off-season, continue to build up, and work with her coach. She’s got a great bunch of people around her, and players will talk in the locker room.

“The question mark for me is when she plays the [Aryna] Sabalenkas or the [Elena] Rybakinas, they’re going to step in, and they’re going to crunch that second serve, especially on a hard court where you get a true bounce.

“But what I’m impressed with is how she holds her position on the baseline; her returns are exceptional. The way she takes the ball so early, she likes to win the battle of the real estate, but the problem she has with the second service was when you get Rybakina and Sabalenka, they’re not going to hold back, especially on a hard court with the true bounce.

“They’re just going to go rifling, but it’s the battle because you know, Eala is going to break you a lot of times. So that puts undue pressure on your service game. And do you have the mentality to keep on going after?

“So if I was playing and coaching [against] Eala, I’d always get her to serve first. I’d say ‘I’m returning first, let’s put the pressure on her right away and go after it’. That said, her mentality is second to none.”

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Alex Eala won the biggest title of her career after securing a comeback three-set win over Jessica Pegula in the Washington Open final in a match that was played over two days.

The 21-year-old dropped a tight, back-and-forth first set 6-4 on Sunday before the contest was called off for the day due to rain and lightning in the American capital, with Pegula trailing 1-2 in the second.

But when the encounter resumed on Monday afternoon, it was a very different story as Eala‘s pressure told as the former US Open finalist dropped the second 6-4.

All the momentum was with the unseeded player in the decider, with the left-hander grabbing an early break, and she never looked back as she won 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Eala, who beat second seed Elina Svitolina and third seed Naomi Osaka along the way, secured her first WTA 500 title, which will give her a huge amount of confidence heading into the Canadian Open in the coming days. But for Pegula, this was a damaging defeat after being the better player on Sunday.

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Washington rankings points breakdown

Prior to this tournament, Pegula was comfortably in third place in the WTA Tour rankings, with Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka well clear of the chasing pack in second and first, respectively.

Eala, on the other hand, was at a career-high of 28 but after she won four matches on her way to the final, she rose to 24th.

Victory saw her crash the the top 20 for the first time, overtaking French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska in the process.

Eala is now up to 20th after earning a hard-fought 500 points, while Pegula still picks up a respectable 325 of her own. The full rankings breakdown for the tournament is below.

First round: 1
Second round: 60
Quarter-final: 108
Semi-final: 195
Runner-up: 325
Champion: 500

Incidentally, Pegula remains on 6,625, which is 976 ahead of Coco Gauff in fourth but still 1,431 adrift of Rybakina, who is a further 494 points back from world No 1 Sabalenka.

Eala jumps up to 2,106 points, and will be targeting the top 10 in the not so distant future.

Washington prize money breakdown

This is the 14th edition of this tournament for women but the 57th for the men.

The total prize money for the 32-man draw is $2,469,450 (£1,838,999) but for the 28-strong women’s field, it is down at $1,637,982 (£1,219,805).

Last year’s women’s champion, Leylah Fernandez, earned $197,570 (£147,130) after beating Anna Kalinskaya but this time out, Eala pocketed $54,430 (£40,539) more than that.

Pegula, on the other hand, collected $155,000 as she falls to 11-13 in WTA Tour finals. Below is the full prize money breakdown for the Washington Open.

First round: $17,440 (£12,984)
Second round: $24,474 (£18,220)
Quarter-final: $47,750 (£35,555)
Semi-final: $90,900 (£67,693)
Runner-up: $155,000 (£115,428)
Champion: $252,000 (£187,664)

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Greg Rusedski is feeling much more optimistic about Carlos Alcaraz’s injury recovery after seeing the Spaniard’s latest training video.

Just under a month ago, the former British No 1 said he was “deeply concerned” by footage the 23-year-old posted of him back on the court as he makes his way back from a wrist injury.

The seven-time major winner did not look like he was ready to be back on the ATP Tour but ahead of his scheduled return at the Cincinnati Masters (13-23 August), Rusedski has since struck a more buoyant tone.

On the latest episode of Off Court with Greg Rusedski, the former US Open finalist said, “He seems to be hitting the ball well, but it looked like he wasn’t hitting with the highest level players.

“It was more juniors and younger players. Time will tell, but much better signs. Fingers crossed he makes it in Cincinnati.”

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Rusedski, who currently coaches Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, was also pleased with how well Alcaraz was moving around the court, going by the short clip he posted.

While the wrist needs to rest and recover during this type of injury, a player can still keep in good physical shape – something Rusedski was quick to point out.

 

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He added, “The movement looks pretty good because when you have a wrist injury, the good news is you can do a lot of footwork, you can do a lot of movement. You can use that time to get better physically, but you still need to get the reps on court.

“So a lot more optimistic about him coming back, but still, we got to see what happens. We’ve seen what’s happened with Jack Draper. You know, a lot of starts. So fingers crossed, Carlos is back. We need him in the game.”

Alcaraz hasn’t played on the ATP Tour since injuring his wrist back in mid-April at the Barcelona Open.

It remains to be seen how successful the former world No 1 will be on his return to the sport, especially as he attempts to defend his US Open title in a few weeks. And Rusedski thinks just having him back is what the sport desperately needs.

“Carlos is the biggest star in men’s tennis at the moment, the most explosive player. And for me, he’s the guy who transcends our sport, not only tennis, but globally,” he said.

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Aryna Sabalenka has not been in action since she was dumped out of the Wimbledon round of 16 by Naomi Osaka, but she will return in Toronto for the Canadian Open.

The world No 1 has not had a vintage year so far in 2026, due to her inability to claim a Grand Slam title.

She has, however, still won three WTA Tour singles titles, including the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

She is set to return at Masters level at the Canadian Open, a tournament she is yet to win in her career.

Ahead of her return to action at the North American hardcourt event, Sabalenka has lobbied for a change to the way players have to conduct their media.

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Taking to social media just days before her first round match at the Canadian Open against Moyuka Uchijima, Sabalenka said: “How about pre-tournament media to be changed? Top 10 players together for press conference? F1 style? Fun no?”

This is a ploy that has been experimented over the years, most famously at the ATP Finals, with the top eight players in the world all sit down at the desk to take questions.

However, Sabalenka’s latest idea has already been dismissed by reputable tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg.

Responding to Sabalenka’s initial post, Rothenberg said: “[I] would be game to try it somewhere but in my experience with that style some of the people up there will spend long stretches of time up on the podium without getting asked anything, and it becomes a big waste of their time.”

In a later post, Gill Gross also stated it could have a damaging impact on the content of press conferences.

“[It] would be fun as a changeup, but my hunch is the players would say absolutely nothing vulnerable or insightful in each others presence.

“There’s already culture of guardedness in the locker room and this would expose it even further. Plus, individuals would field less questions total.”

Sabalenka’s latest plea does not appear to have been taken up by any other players either, so the world No 1 could have her work cut out for her trying to push this over the line.

In the meantime, Sabalenka will be looking to turn around her form at the Canadian Open.

In her six appearances at the Masters event, the star has only reached the semi finals on one occasion. She has also reached the quarter finals, but outside of that she’s suffered a variety of early exits in Canada.

She has a 9-6 record at the Canadian Open, which equates to a 60% win rate, which makes it her second-worst performing Masters event behind only the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The post Aryna Sabalenka calls for major tennis change ahead of Canadian Open return appeared first on Tennis365.

Jessica Pegula has revealed what makes Alex Eala’s serve “tricky” to deal with as she also addressed the “crazy” support the Filipina star receives.

Pegula and Eala are competing in the championship match at the Mubadala DC Open, a WTA 500 tournament in Washington DC.

World No 3 Pegula was leading 6-4, 1-2 in the final against 28th-ranked Eala on Sunday when play was suspended due to rain in the United States capital. The match is set to resume on Monday.

In the pair’s only previous meeting, Pegula defeated Eala 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3 in the semi-finals at the 2025 Miami Open.

After her semi-final win against Diana Shnaider in Washington, Pegula was asked about Eala’s serve.

“I mean, I think her serve has gotten a little bit better since when I last played her. I know it’s something she’s working on, of course,” the 32-year-old American said in her press conference.

“One, I think it helps that she’s a lefty. I think lefties are definitely — no offense to lefties, but they can get away with a little bit more, because we’re just not used to seeing the ball come that direction as often, and I think you see that with a lot of different lefties on tour.

“I mean, [Adrian] Mannarino, I feel like he just kind of like throws it in there. He can still hit his serve, but throws it in there. I’m not sure if a person that’s right-handed would be able to get away with it that much. So I do think they can use that to their advantage.

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“I think with her, it stays so low. It’s hard to attack. I think if you put her — it would be interesting if she plays mixed doubles. I don’t think guys are going to like returning her serve. There’s no space to actually do anything with it. Sometimes you feel like you’re just starting the point.

“I remember in Miami, I just didn’t know, should I go for it more, because then I feel like I’m possibly giving her free points off of that serve, or do I kind of just start the point? You really have to use your legs and kind of get up and trust it.

“Yeah, that’s why it can be so tricky. It stays very low, especially on more of a hard court, which I think she’s probably better on a hard court or grass court where it’s very hard to attack.

“I mean, the ball is kind of below the net, and you’re having to hit up on the ball. Any time you have to do that, it can be really tricky.”

Pegula later discussed Eala’s remarkable following from her fans from the Philippines.

“It’s crazy. There’s people out there all waiting for her. I mean, I think it’s awesome for the sport. I think it’s really cool. I think we’ve seen that similar to [Joao] Fonseca,” said Pegula.

“I think it’s amazing she’s able to draw these crowds, and it’s not even like she’s the No. 1 seed yet or like a top-5 player, and she’s able to bring all these people in to watch her matches.

“I’ve seen it at all the tournaments we’ve been at this year. She’s usually on a bigger court, because they have to put her on a bigger court. Usually you hear the crowd from every single court that you’re on around her.

“I remember in Dubai I could hear it from my hotel room, because it’s very close to the courts there. So I think it’s awesome. Any way to get people into tennis.

“I remember when we had her on our podcast, we had so many Filipino fans and the one girl, Des Krawczyk, is also half-Filipino, and they were, like, Oh, my God, Des is Filipino. Then she got all of these followers because they were Filipino fans.

“I think it’s really cool when you can outreach a group of people, especially that might not be super into tennis. I think it’s really neat.

“It will be tough. I remember in Miami. This was, like, before she was really, like, people knew her as much. I’m assuming tomorrow it’s probably going to be worse. I don’t know if there’s more Filipino here compared to Miami, but Miami I was just, like, who are these people? What is going on?

“I’m an American. I’m in Miami Open. We’re in the semis. I live in South Florida. I was just, like, where are these people coming from? Like, I don’t understand. I was just so confused.

“Now obviously looking back, it’s gotten even crazier, and it makes complete sense now. But I just remember being in that match and just being, like, where did all of these fans come from? I don’t understand what’s happening. Now it’s, like, every week it seems to be like that.

“It is what it is. I’ll do my best. Hopefully I can still get some American fans behind me.”

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Jessica Pegula and Alex Eala will have to return to court on Monday afternoon after their Washington DC Open final at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center was suspended on Sunday due to lightning and heavy rain.

The showpiece match was due to get underway at 12:00 local time (16:00 GMT, 17:00 BST), but organisers confirmed hours before the start that “play will not resume before 2:45pm EST due to rain and lightning. Everyone on site should seek shelter immediately.”

The weather eventually cleared and players eventually made their way to the court nearly two hours before the original scheduled start time.

World No 3 and top seed Pegula edged the opening set as, after the pair traded breaks midway during the set, the American broke for a second time in game nine and then served it out to love.

They were still on serve in the second set with the score 6-4, 1-2 when it started raining with the initial resumption time set for 5:30pm EST.

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Play was initially scheduled to resume at 7:00pm and it was confirmed just after 9:00pm that there would be no further action on Sunday with the men’s final between Taylor Fritz and Rafael Jodar also pushed to Monday.

“Matches have been cancelled for tonight,” a message on social media read. “The women’s singles final will now take place at 12:00pm tomorrow.

“The men’s singles final will take place not before 1:00pm tomorrow. Ticketing information to come soon.”

Monday’s Play Time

If the weather is good, then the women’s final will now resume at 12:00pm (16:00 GMT, 17:00 BST) with the men’s final scheduled to start an hour later at 1:00pm (17:00 GMT, 18:00 BST)

Weather Forecast

According to Accuweather, “cloudy and very humid conditions with showers and a heavy thunderstorm” are expected on Monday.

Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 31 degrees Celsius and no rain is expected between 11:00am and 1:00pm local time with the temperatures set to range between 27 and 29 degrees.

What They Said

The pair will meet for a second time following their semi-final clash at the 2025 Miami Open which was won by Pegula.

Pegula on Eala: “I mean, I think her serve has gotten a little bit better since when I last played her. I know it’s something she’s working on, of course.

“One, I think it helps that she’s a lefty. I think lefties are definitely – no offense to lefties, but they can get away with a little bit more, because we’re just not used to seeing the ball come that direction as often, and I think you see that with a lot of different lefties on tour.

“I mean, [Adrian] Mannarino, I feel like he just kind of like throws it in there. He can still hit his serve, but throws it in there. I’m not sure if a person that’s right-handed would be able to get away with it that much. So I do think they can use that to their advantage.

“I think with her, it stays so low. It’s hard to attack. I think if you put her – it would be interesting if she plays mixed doubles. I don’t think guys are going to like returning her serve. There’s no space to actually do anything with it. Sometimes you feel like you’re just starting the point.”

Eala on Pegula: “I think Jesse is a really good player. I mean, not I think. She is a really good player. I think she hits quite a flat ball, makes the opponent uncomfortable, or at least I felt uncomfortable last time.

“I think I did a good job in certain points last year of, like, holding my ground. Like I won the second set.

“But, yeah, I think there will definitely be a certain set of challenges. You know, she is where she is for a reason, so I’m going to try to face it head on and do what I can.”

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Eight players on the WTA side and eight players on the ATP side won’t feature at the 2026 Canadian Open as they are either out injured or opted not to compete at the joint ATP-WTA 1000 tournament.

The Canadian Open marks the first event of the North American hard-court swing triple-header as it will be followed by the Cincinnati Open in Mason from 13-23 August and the US Open in New York with the season-ending Grand Slam getting underway on 30 August.

The first-round matches get underway on Sunday, 2 August with the women’s tournament taking place at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, while the men are competing at the IGA Stadium in Montreal.

But the tournament has struggled to get the top players, especially on the ATP Tour, to compete in recent years as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic missed the 2025 edition and the trio will again be absent this year.

Alcaraz, of course, is still not fully recovered from the wrist injury he sustained at the Barcelona Open in April, but he is expected to return at Cincinnati.

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But Sinner and Djokovic have decided not to compete in Montreal as they wanted an extended break after Wimbledon.

The trio were all due to be seeded in the top 10 and they are joined on the seeded withdrawal list by Alexander Bublik (11) and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (No 25) with Zizou Bergs and Raphael Collignon getting the nod for the final two seeding spots.

ATP Canadian Open withdrawal list

• Jannik Sinner replaced by Valentin Royer
• Carlos Alcaraz replaced by Jan-Lennard Struff
• Novak Djokovic replaced by Marton Fucsovics
• Alexander Bublik replaced by Rinky Hijikata
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina replaced by Jenson Brooksby
• Ethan Quinn replaced by Daniel Merida
• Tomas Machac replaced by James Duckworth
• Sebastian Korda replaced by Luca Van Assche

American Ethan Quinn has become the latest men’s player to withdraw as the world No 46 is struggling with a metatarsal injury in his right foot.

WTA Canadian Open withdrawal list

The tournament, though, suffered the biggest blow on the women’s side as home favourite and defending champion Victoria Mboko was ruled out due to a knee injury she sustained at the Queen’s Club Championship.

The Canadian, who won the title on her debut 12 months ago, was due to be seeded 12th while 2026 Wimbledon runner-up and world No 6 Karolina Muchova will also be absent as she underwent a small operation a fortnight ago.

World No 15 Italy Jasmine Paolini is still recovering from a foot injury No 32 Hailey Baptiste is still recovering after picking up a serious knee injury at the French Open.

• Karolina Muchova replaced by Taylor Townsend
• Victoria Mboko replaced by Karolina Pliskova
• Jasmine Paolini replaced by Tamara Korpatsch
• Hailey Baptiste replaced by Anna Bondar
• Emma Raducanu replaced by Eva Lys
• Dayana Yastremska replaced by Renata Zarazua
• Laura Siegemund replaced by Wang Xiyu
• Petra Marcinko replaced by Alycia Parks

Although four seeded players are absent from the women’s tournament, none of the big-name players has opted to skip the event as world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka leads the field with No 2 Elena Rybakina, No 3 Jessica Pegula, No 4 Coco Gauff, No 5 Mirra Andreeva, No 7 Linda Noskova, No 8 Iga Swiatek, No 9 Amanda Anisimova and No 10 Elina Svitolina all competing.

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Roger Federer’s former coach has heaped praise on Alex Eala after she extended her impressive run at the Washington Open.

The Filipina reached her maiden WTA 500 final by dominating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 in just one hour and 16 minutes.

Eala and Osaka exchanged breaks early in the opening set, but it was the Filipina who looked far more assured on serve, not facing another break point for the remainder of the match.

The 21-year-old will next face American Jessica Pegula, who rallied from 5-2 down in the opening set to defeat Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4 in the other semi-final.

Pegula has now reached the 24th final of her career, with four of those coming this season.

The victory over world No 13 Osaka represents another impressive result for Eala, who has now defeated six Top 10 players during the 2026 season.

Paul Annacone, who coached Roger Federer from 2010 to 2013, did not hold back in his praise of the Filipina during a Tennis Channel segment following her semi-final victory.

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“This is amazing,” began Annacone.

“This is such a great journey to watch, because she had a springboard on to the Tour and she has done such a terrific job of getting comfortable with new sets of expectations in front of her.

“We’ve talked a lot about the fanbase and the people that follow her, whether she likes it or not she’s living life in a fishbowl right now, so how clearly can you go out and play with all those expectations?

“For me to watch someone with those kind of skills and to be able to use them against the best players, the most powerful plays is really incredible. Because she played Osaka in a way that is really difficult to do.

“Naomi is one of the biggest hitters on tour, she said you know what she’s great at doing that but I’m still going to stand up on the baseline. Every second serve I get, I’m going to take early, I’m going to redirect, I’m going to steal her time.

“She committed to who she is as a player, who she is as a person and that won her that match. That clarity of how she needed to play was better than the power that Osaka could bring.

“Now can she do it to the next level? I don’t know.

“That’s why I asked Andrea earlier in the match, it’s very interesting because she is vulnerable on her serve, but how many players are going to be able to overcome her leftiness to do something a little bit different to take advantage of the slower speeds and steal the time and get it back on her quickly.

“Because if you don’t, she just gets back on the baseline and runs you like a yo-yo.”

The victory guarantees Eala a new career-high ranking of world No 24, four places above her previous best.

Just 18 months ago, the young Filipina was ranked outside the world’s top 150. Her rapid rise has been one of the standout stories on the WTA Tour, and there are few signs that her remarkable momentum is slowing as the North American hard-court swing continues.

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Alex Eala is the first to acknowledge that her serve “can be uncomfortable”, but she insists it is still a work in progress as she brushed off concerns that it is “holding her back”.

The Filipina continues her stunning rise in tennis as she has reached her first WTA 500 final at the Washington DC Open after beating Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka.

Despite her supposedly weak serve, Eala has dropped only one set during the tournament and that was in her first match against former world No 4 Zheng as she lost the opening set before winning the next 10.

She was broken only once by Osaka in the semi-final while she broke twice in both sets and generally had the upper hand when it came to serving, as her first-serve percentage was at 59.6% compared to the Japanese star’s 54.2%.

Eala also won 71.4% of first-serve points with Osaka on 59.4% while she dominated the second-serve points won with 78.9% against 48.1%, dropping only four points on her second serve over the two sets.

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Not bad for someone whose serve came under fire earlier in the week when former world No 1 Rennae Stubbs raised concerns over it.

“Eala’s serve will never win her a Grand Slam,” the four-time women’s doubles Grand Slam winner said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “I know people could say the same about Angie Kerber, but I feel that’s what’s holding Eala back.

“I think it’s also what’s holding Jessica Pegula back. Pegula’s second serve is very vulnerable against players who hit the ball hard. I still hope she can win a Grand Slam, but right now I simply don’t see it happening.”

Eala was asked about her serve after her win one-hour and 16-minute win over Osaka and knows there is work to do, but feels it allows her to use her other weapons.

“I think that my serve can be uncomfortable. I think I try to play around a lot with variety,” Eala said in her post-match 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 (smiling).

“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.”

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Serena Williams’ former coach believes Victoria Mboko has the ‘skill’ to win a Grand Slam title one day, but argues that rival Alex Eala’s game will ‘never’ allow her to achieve the same feat without major improvements.

Over the past 12 months, Mboko and Eala have emerged as two of the brightest young stars on the WTA Tour, with both enjoying breakthrough campaigns that have propelled them up the rankings.

The Canadian captured her maiden WTA 1000 title in Montreal last season, while the Filipina has arguably been the more consistent performer this year, compiling six victories over Top 10 opponents.

Just three weeks ago, Eala became the first player from the Philippines to reach the second week of a Grand Slam after advancing to the last 16 at Wimbledon.

Mboko recently partnered Serena Williams in the women’s doubles event at Queen’s Club, marking the American legend’s return to professional tennis. However, the Canadian suffered a medial collateral ligament injury in her left knee during the singles competition.

The injury forced Mboko to retire from the tournament before withdrawing from Wimbledon, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open. She has also opted to miss the season’s final Grand Slam, the US Open.

Most significantly, Mboko is set to lose the 1,000 ranking points she earned by winning the Canadian Open in 2025, where she defeated four Grand Slam champions during an extraordinary title run.

Rennae Stubbs, who coached Williams during her final US Open in 2022 and has also worked alongside her during her recent comeback, weighed in on the long-term prospects of both rising stars.

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“Eala’s serve will never win her a Grand Slam,” Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

“I know people could say the same about Angie Kerber, but I feel that’s what’s holding Eala back.

“I think it’s also what’s holding Jessica Pegula back. Pegula’s second serve is very vulnerable against players who hit the ball hard. I still hope she can win a Grand Slam, but right now I simply don’t see it happening.

“Once Victoria Mboko recovers from her injury, I believe she has the skill, the audacity and the confidence needed to win one. She doesn’t get nervous – she just goes for it. There are still many parts of her game she can improve, especially her serve, and technically her forehand can get even better.

“But it’s her confidence that makes me believe in her.

“Hopefully, once she recovers from this knee injury, she can win a Grand Slam over the next few years.”

Eala and Mboko have faced each other twice, including once on the ITF junior circuit.

Their first meeting came at the 2022 US Open girls’ tournament, where Eala claimed a 6-1, 7-6(5) victory to reach the quarter-finals.

Mboko gained revenge last season at the Hong Kong Open, recovering from a set down to defeat the Filipina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the pair’s first meeting on the WTA Tour.

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