Alex Eala could live to regret a decision she has made after the Asian Games this year.
Eala left the Asian Games with a bronze medal once again, having suffered a disappointing semi-final defeat to eventual gold medallist Xiyu Wang.
Following her defeat in Nagoya, Japan, it was confirmed that Eala had entered the Tokyo Open, a tournament she has never played before in her career.
This is one of a number of tournaments Eala is entered into before the end of the 2026 season, but this might be an error of judgement from the Filipina.
Alex Eala could become burnt out with her busy year-end schedule
The Tokyo Open is one of four tournaments Eala has entered before the end of the 2026 season, all of which will take place in consecutive weeks.
Eala is one of the most popular players in women’s tennis right now, and it is completely understandable that she would want to play as many tournaments in Asia, given its proximity to the Philippines, but it is a decision that could come back to bite her.
| Tournaments Alex Eala has entered in 2026 | Best previous result |
| Wuhan Open | First Round |
| Ningbo Open | First Qualifying Round |
| Tokyo Open | Has never played before |
| Hong Kong Open | Second Round |
Recently, Eala has suffered surprise losses to Tatiana Prozorova and the aforementioned Wang at the Asian Games, two matches she would have been expected to win. This has already shown signs of somewhat of a post-US Open hangover for Eala, and her schedule during the Asian swing may only exacerbate that.
Eala has already played 62 matches on the WTA Tour this year, with only Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina playing more than her, and she is now risking becoming burnt out during the Asian swing.
Not only has Eala entered a number of tournaments in consecutive weeks, but she also has the pressure of so many fans wanting to watch her. It would be advisable for the world number 18 to withdraw from one of these tournaments, to at least allow her one week off, particularly as Eala can no longer qualify for the WTA Finals and is therefore not desperate for ranking points.
Eala should see Mirra Andreeva as an example for not playing too many tournaments, as the Russian really struggled in the latter stages of the 2025 season due to the amount of tennis she had played and pressure she was under.
Alex Eala should use her remaining tournaments in 2026 for one clear goal
While Eala is unable to qualify for the WTA Finals this year, there is one ranking goal that she can still use her busy Asian Games schedule for.
At the moment, Eala is the current world number 18, which is her career-high ranking, and she has a big opportunity to improve this even further.
Eala only has 34 ranking points to defend until next year, which is a very minimal number of points in the grand scheme of things, and if she could string some results together could be hugely impactful for her 2027 season.
How high do you think Alexandra Eala’s ceiling is?
While Eala is currently the world number 18, if she were to climb into the top 16 before the Australian Open in January, it could give her a much bigger chance to make a deep run.
This is because currently Eala would be forecast to face a player seeded between 9 and 16 in the third round of Grand Slams, whereas if she was to break into the top 16, she would face someone between 17 and 24 in the third round. This feels particularly significant for Eala, who lost to Iva Jovic at the US Open, who was the 14th seed.
Eala’s next tournament is the Wuhan Open, where she has never won a main draw match before, which begins on October 12.
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