Venus Williams is playing doubles with Diana Shnaider at the 2026 Washington Open.
She had been expected to play alongside Alex Eala, continuing their partnership that began in Bad Homburg earlier this year.
However, Eala withdrew from the Washington Open doubles event, explaining that Williams deserved a ‘partner who can give their all physically, emotionally, [and] mentally when they’re on court with her’.
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Former world number one Andy Roddick has now delivered his verdict on Eala’s decision.
Andy Roddick says Alex Eala’s Washington Open doubles withdrawal makes sense
During the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, the American had this to say about Eala’s withdrawal.
“Venus [Williams] has had a rough go with doubles. She keeps it pretty close to her chest what the timelines look like, but is this the last summer?
“I don’t think there is ever enough conversation around her, and if she is done at the US Open, she is an absolute icon of this game.
“It has been a bit hit or miss with [Hailey] Baptiste at Roland Garros, with Serena [Williams] at Wimbledon, and now [Alex] Eala.
“If I was a young player, I would be submitting my resume to play with Venus as long as she is out there; I think that would be so cool. I am happy Eala already got to do it.
“But irrespective of whether it’s Venus or someone else, you still have to be responsible to your body, and the goal of this summer is to make runs at these tournaments.
“I don’t think Eala is at the point where she is prioritising doubles over singles, so it makes sense.”
Eala has played nine doubles events this year, but has yet to reach a final, and sits 127th in the world rankings.
Alex Eala’s doubles record in 2026 (5-9)
| Tournament | Partner | Performance | Wins | Defeat |
| ASB Classic | Iva Jovic | Semi-final | 1 (Venus Williams/Elina Svitolina) | Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan |
| Australian Open | Ingrid Martins | First round | 0 | Magda Linette/Shuko Aoyama |
| Abu Dhabi Open | Janice Tjen | Semi-final | 2 (Leylah Fernandez/Kristina Mladenovic, Cristina Bucsa/Zhang Shuai) | Tereza Mihalikova/Olivia Nicholls |
| Indian Wells | Iva Jovic | First round | 0 | Jelena Ostapenko/Hailey Baptiste |
| Madrid Open | Zeynep Sonmez | Second round | 1 (Chan Hao-ching/Fanny Stollar) | Taylor Townsend/Katerina Siniakova |
| Italian Open | Hailey Baptiste | First round | 0 | Taylor Townsend/Katerina Siniakova |
| Birmingham Classic | Nikola Bartunkova | First round | 0 | Harriet Dart/Maia Lumsden |
| Bad Homburg Open | Venus Williams | Quarter-final | 1 (Alexandra Osborne/Catherine Harrison) | Tereza Mihalikova/Olivia Nicholls |
| Wimbledon | Nikola Bartunkova | First round | 0 | Jelena Ostapenko/Sofia Kenin |
Alex Eala’s doubles ranking
- 125. Sorana Cirstea – 680 points
- 126. Carmen Corley – 674 points
- 127. Alex Eala – 661 points
- 128. Sapfo Sakellaridi – 658 points
- 129. Ekaterina Ovcharenko – 645 points
However, in singles, Eala has won a title and is currently ranked inside the world’s top 30.
Alex Eala’s singles record in 2026 (30-18)
| Tournament | Performance | Wins | Defeat |
| ASB Classic | Semi-final | 3 (Donna Vekic, Petra Marcinko, Magda Linette) | Wang Xinyu |
| Australian Open | First round | 0 | Alycia Parks |
| Philippine Women’s Open | Quarter-final | 2 (Alina Charaeva, Himeno Sakatsume) | Camila Osorio |
| Abu Dhabi Open | Quarter-final | 2 (Zeynep Sonmez, Aliaksandra Sasnovich) | Ekaterina Alexandrova |
| Qatar Open | First round | 0 | Tereza Valentova |
| Dubai Tennis Championships | Quarter-final | 3 (Hailey Baptiste, Jasmine Paolini, Sorana Cirstea) | Coco Gauff |
| Indian Wells | Fourth round | 2 (Dayana Yastremska, Coco Gauff) | Linda Noskova |
| Miami Open | Fourth round | 2 (Laura Siegemund, Magda Linette) | Karolina Muchova |
| Linz Open | Second round | 1 (Julia Grabher) | Jelena Ostapenko |
| Stuttgart Open | First round | 0 | Leylah Fernandez |
| Madrid Open | Second round | 1 (Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) | Elise Mertens |
| Italian Open | Third round | 2 (Magdalena Frech, Wang Xinyu) | Elena Rybakina |
| Internationaux de Strasbourg | First round | 0 | Oleksandra Oliynykova |
| French Open | First round | 0 | Iva Jovic |
| Birmingham Classic | Champion | 5 (Priscilla Hon, Alina Charaeva, Mananchaya Sawangkaew, Rebeka Masarova, Nikola Bartunkova) | 0 |
| Queen’s Club Championships | Second round | 1 (Zhang Shuai) | Iva Jovic |
| Berlin Open | Semi-final | 3 (Donna Vekic, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina) | Linda Noskova |
| Bad Homburg Open | First round | 0 | Elise Mertens |
| Wimbledon | Fourth round | 3 (Renata Zarazua, Maya Joint, Iga Swiatek) | Jasmine Paolini |
Alex Eala’s singles ranking
- 26. Emma Navarro – 1,674 points
- 27. Anastasia Potapova – 1,667 points
- 28. Alex Eala – 1,666 points
- 29. Jelena Ostapenko – 1,592 points
- 30. Clara Tauson – 1,564 points
Achieving more success in singles than in doubles, it makes sense that Eala would want to focus on the discipline.
While playing with a legend of Williams’ calibre is, of course, a privilege, the Filipina must do what’s best for her own tennis career.
And in this case, that means withdrawing from the doubles event to prioritise singles.
Alex Eala will play mixed doubles at the US Open
Eala may be prioritising her singles career, but that doesn’t mean she’s forgotten about doubles, or mixed doubles for that matter.
The 21-year-old has recently signed up to play mixed doubles with Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open.
Auger-Aliassime missed the event 12 months ago, although he is a former Olympic bronze medallist in mixed doubles.
Whether he can achieve further success with Eala by his side remains to be seen.
The 2026 US Open mixed doubles event begins on Monday, August 24.
