Alex Eala’s popularity ratings are rising at a rapid rate after she enjoyed her best run at a Grand Slam with a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon and while she didn’t land the big prize at the All England Club, she has been handed a consolation.
Eala’s game works well on a grass court and after starting June with a win at the Birmingham Open, she the enjoyed a fine run in Berlin that included wins against Elena Rybakina and the Elina Svitolina in the WTA 500 tournament.
That was backed up by three wins at Wimbledon, with her victory against defending champion Iga Swiatek on the middle Saturday providing one of the best stories of the tournament.
Now she has won a landslide victory in a WTA poll to crown the best player of the grass court season, with the Filipina winning 90 per-cent of the vote ahead of new Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.
Karolina Muchova finished third in the poll, with the scale of Eala’s victory highlighting the popularity she has both in her homeland and with a huge fanbase around the world.
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Eala’s fine form on grass courts allowed her to rise back into the top 30 of the WTA Rankings and that should ensure she is seeded for next month’s US Open, where she will have another chance to make further advances up the rankings.
Even though Eala was disappointed by her fourth round defeat against Jasmine Paolini at Wimbledon, she took a lot from her performances at at the All England Club.
“There are so many positives,” she said after the loss against Paolini.
“One I think is how I’ve handled pressure. There’s pressure every week, right? Of course, the more you want to win, I think the more kind of like pressure goes along with that. I’m happy with how I faced it head on. I think I kept cool when I needed to control my emotions. Overall, performed the best that I could on the day.
“I think this week in general will add to my confidence. I mean, if this week doesn’t… It’s been one of my best results, right? Of course, it will add confidence.
“I think it’s important that every match I played this week, and every match that I play, I go in with the self-esteem and the thought that I’m able to win. I don’t think that necessarily because of one week or the other that that will change, yeah.
“That’s also what’s beautiful about tennis, is that every match, it’s different in a sense. You’re always finding solutions, the opponent is always finding ways to make you uncomfortable.
“Everyone has days where they don’t play their best tennis. I understand that’s part of the job. I don’t think I’m going to be playing the best tennis of my life every single day. I don’t expect that. With that being said, I’m really proud of how I handled things. I think I just have to kind of move forward and continue with my progress.
“With tennis and matches that are tight, it sometimes can depend on one point or two. I think it’s how you manage yourself during those moments. Looking back, for example, I have one point, and did I stick with my game, did I stick with the game plan, did I do everything I could at that moment? I think that’s all you can really do is do your best, right?
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“There are so many external factors that you cannot control. You cannot control how she plays. You cannot control if there’s wind. You cannot control if it’s super hot or it’s super cold.
“The only thing I can control is how I approach those situations. If I’m able to approach them with bravery, with a steady mind and with intensity, then I’m able to look back and feel no regret, yeah.”
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