​Following her breakthrough year last season, Alex Eala has certainly come on leaps and bounds in 2026. The Filipina star clinched her first WTA Tour-level title at the Washington Open during the North American hard-court swing, where she put together an incredible campaign. There, Eala beat Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula en route to the title. At Wimbledon, Eala achieved her best Grand Slam result to date by reaching the fourth round of the Championships and dethroning defending champion Iga Swiatek in the process. Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesGreg Rusedski tells Alex Eala what she needs to improve on“The off-season is huge for Eala,” said former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski, analysing the 21-year-old, as per Tennis 365. “For me, those six weeks to a month period you have, it can make a big difference, and we all know her serve is the area she will be working on. If you can maximise and get a solution where you can get the speed, the accuracy up and break it down and get that daily work, that’s where it could pay dividends for her.“For me, I feel like she’s got that work ethic, that belief. And will the coaches be brave and try some new things? The rest of her team knows this is something she’s gonna have to continually work on, so once they get to the end of the season, I’m sure working on her serve is number one on the list. It’s finding a solution that the player agrees with to get to the next step.“So she will improve it. She’s got too good a team of people around her. You have an advantage when you are coming through because people don’t know too much about your game, but they work it out pretty quickly. That’s why the second season can often be more difficult because you don’t have that surprise factor anymore.“I absolutely think she can get to the quarter-finals and semi-finals of Grand Slams next year, but she needs to improve that serve. There’s more breaks in the women’s game because that’s an area they work on a lot more.“If you have a better serve, whether it’s in the men’s or the women’s game, it makes a huge difference. What I like about Eala is her attitude and there’s no doubt she has it between the ears. That’s so important for any player looking to go to the next level.”Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesAlex Eala’s rise up the rankings during the 2026 seasonEala started the season ranked 58th in the world, which she quickly improved by reaching the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February. By making the last eight in her debut campaign at the WTA 1000 event, Eala went from 47th in the rankings to 31st. Her ranking took a hit when she bowed out of the Miami Open in the fourth round, having burst onto the scene there in 2025 by making the semifinals. But Eala slowly clawed her way back into the top 40, and cracked the top 30 in June following a semifinal run in Berlin. With the fourth-round run at Wimbledon, Eala began to close in o