“I’m not worried about it, I know she’s going to bounce back" - Alexandra Eala's form may have taken a turn, but there is no need to be concerned

Alexandra Eala was on fire a couple of months ago. Voted as 'Star of the Swing' following the grass and North American hardcourt swing, she was making her presence known on the WTA Tour noted. A return to Asia has not been as productive, but that has not worried Greg Rusedski who keeps a level head while already looking towards what sort of an impact she could make in 2027.

Having reached a career high of 18th, Eala was electric. A semi-final in Berlin was culminated by her defeating the reigning Wimbledon champion, Iga Swiatek, on Centre Court en route to the fourth round. She then finally sealed a first ever WTA title at the DC Open, defeating the likes of Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and the No.1 seed Jessica Pegula to clinch glory.

Her action in North America ended slightly early after her good friend and fellow young talent Iva Jovic dumped her out of the US Open after a thrilling battle. From that point onwards, she has not been able to raise her game to those dazzling standards of a few months ago.

She exited the Singapore Open at the first hurdle. A huge opportunity missed after a wave of withdrawals put her as one of the favourites for the title. She then failed to clinch success for her country at the Asian Games, having to settle for bronze after a semi-final loss to Wang Xiyu.

Back to the WTA Tour, and a stunning three-set upset against Chinese qualifier Han Shi was a disastrous result at the Wuhan Open.

A sharp decline in results is obviously a worrying sign for Eala, but there is no need to worry according to Rusedski. The former US Open finalist noted that the slide occurred as she began stepping outside of tennis more.

“There was huge demand for her after Wimbledon, after the US Open,” Rusedski said on his podcast. “We’ve seen her at the fashion shows for many big brands, we’ve seen her on podcasts outside of sports, a lot of television shows, so she’s trying to balance it out. It’s not surprising that this dip has happened."

He outlined what Eala has to do for the rest of the year. “For me the most important period now is try to finish the year as best as you can, take a break, go on holiday, put your feet up, go home, spend some time with your family, with your brother, put your tennis rackets away, then slowly build up, make the changes in your game that everybody’s talking about, improve your serve, get it better, and then be fresh to start 2027."

Rusedski was already looking ahead to the next major tournament as he believes Eala could make her mark in Melbourne. “She’ll be seeded at the Australian Open and I’m expecting her to do really well in 2027," he predicted. "So this isn’t abnormal to have a little bit of a dip, and obviously from her point of view, very disappointed that she couldn’t get the gold medal at the Asian Games, because that was probably a big goal for her after the US Open.

“So it is not unusual to have a little bit of a dip, so I’m not worried about it, I know she’s going to bounce back, it’s just a question of whether she’s going to do it at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2027.”

It does not seem that Eala is throwing in the towel quite yet. She is targeting positive results in the WTA 500 events in Ningbo and Tokyo before heading to Hong Kong.