Alexandra Eala names the best female tennis player of all time - and she is still currently competing

Alexandra Eala is one of the most popular tennis players in the world. The stardom she has reached away from the court has recently been matched by the performances on it as she takes a huge step towards the top of the sport with some brilliant performances. She is preparing for a return to competitive action in Asia but beforehand stated who she believed was the best player in the world.

The Filipina has enjoyed some blistering form as of late. The Wimbledon last-16 run in which she defeated the reigning champion Iga Swiatek on Centre Court was a start of things to come. She backed it up by winning the DC Open title in fine fashion, beating some of the best players in the world en route to the title.

Her US Open would end in a three-set thriller at the hands of good friend and fellow young talent Iva Jovic in a painful blow, but that will not stop her from continuing to barge herself up the WTA rankings.

Now positioned in 18th, she has cemented herself in the top 20 in the world with there only seemingly one direction that she can go: up. Tournaments like the Singapore Open, China Open and Wuhan Open will be the next test for Eala with more ranking points and wins to be chased.

She was asked to pick her dream opponent. Thinking back through the catalogue of WTA greats, Eala narrowed it down to two legends of the sport. “Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova,” she replied to Channel News Asia.

The 21-year-old then singled out which one was better, and there is little surprise that she picks the 23-time Grand Slam champion. “Serena is just the greatest of all time,” she explained. “And Maria is somebody I’ve looked up to ever since I was a baby.”

An Eala-Williams contest would be absolutely flooded by spectators. Both players bring in an enormous audience for different reasons: Williams because she is one of the best to ever do it and Eala because of her immense support from her fellow Filipinos.

This still could be a possibility with Williams back competing on the WTA Tour. While there is no certainly around how long the 24-year-old will be playing and what events she will feature in, this matchup between experience and youth would capture the imagination of many tennis fans and be a brilliant watch.

Eala has had the honour of sharing the court with one of the Williams sisters, partnering with Venus Williams in Bad Homburg and Canadian Open doubles, securing just the one win in Germany.

There is always a chance that Serena could partner Eala on the court. Eala has to be high on the list of Serena, who could virtually pick from basically any tennis player in the world to play doubles with amid the immense status she possesses.

For the time being, Eala will be focusing on the Singpaore Open, where her draw is starting to shape up nicely. A rematch from the DC Open against Jessica Pegula will not happen after the American withdrew, but the likes of Mirra Andreeva and Amanda Anisimova will still pose as tough challenges. Eala will kick off her title charge in Southeast Asia against either Tatiana Prozorova or Sofia Costoulas, both ranked outside the world top 140.