The Alexandra Eala effect in full flight, beats Linda Noskova to be crowned 'best player of the grass court season'
WTASaturday, 18 July 2026 at 11:52
Perhaps not the best idea to let fans vote on a poll featuring Alexandra Eala as the WTA have semi learned in the past day after the Filipina managed to be crowned WTA best player of the grass court swing on social media scooping it by a landslide.
This is ahead of Linda Noskova, who herself managed to win Wimbledon. But if it is a popularity contest, you can bet that Eala would win. Her popularity ratings, particularly in her home country of the Philippines, are huge and will no doubt be the main reason why this happened.
Eala's game was one of the standouts on the grass court season and while she didn't win the title at the All England Lawn & Tennis Club, she certainly snared a consolation. Her game will be one certainly to watch on the grass courts going forward as she started June with a win at the Birmingham Open and then she enjoyed an incredible run at the Berlin Ladies Open.
This saw her beat Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina to reach the latter stages of the WTA 500 tournament. That was backed up by three wins at Wimbledon, with victory over defending champion Iga Swiatek on the middle Saturday that was one of the best stories of the tournament.
Eala snares 90% of the poll
Now she has won a landslide victory in a WTA poll to crown the best player of the grass court season with the Filipina winning 90 per cent of the vote ahead of Noskova. Karolina Muchova finished third in the poll, but of course Eala could've won it three times and more due to the percentage difference between her and the rest. The scale of Eala's victory highlights the popularity she has back at home and with a growing fanbase around the world.
She has now risen back into the top 30 of the WTA Rankings and that should ensure that she is seeded for the US Open next month. Good news also for the tournament who no doubt can stick her on a better court and cash in on her rise of popularity.
“There are so many positives,” she said summing up her loss to Paolini.
Drumroll please 🥁
— wta (@WTA) July 17, 2026
Alex Eala is your Star of the Grass Court Swing 😍@MercedesBenz pic.twitter.com/0flNI1oEDD
“One I think is how I’ve handled pressure. There’s pressure every week, right? Of course, the more you want to win, I think the more kind of like pressure goes along with that. I’m happy with how I faced it head on. I think I kept cool when I needed to control my emotions. Overall, performed the best that I could on the day.
“I think this week in general will add to my confidence. I mean, if this week doesn’t… It’s been one of my best results, right? Of course, it will add confidence.
“I think it’s important that every match I played this week, and every match that I play, I go in with the self-esteem and the thought that I’m able to win. I don’t think that necessarily because of one week or the other that that will change, yeah.
“That’s also what’s beautiful about tennis, is that every match, it’s different in a sense. You’re always finding solutions, the opponent is always finding ways to make you uncomfortable.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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- Hurry on back Carlos! We miss you!!Rapunzel17-07-2026
- Well done to the author of this article!! A meltdown is what Coco experienced at the US Open the year she was chirping at her box, very near to tears, double faults were in great supply and she simply could not get a handle on that match. THAT AP is a meltdown!!Rapunzel12-07-2026
- This sensible approach helped Muchova... and look where she will find herself tomorrow (Wimbledon Final). Iga's wise to escape... especially to Nature and so. The wilderness (forests, lakes, mountains) has been my "Church" and escape from The Noise since I was a kid. She'll do well in the end.
mandoist10-07-2026 - "Like if it was hotter, I probably would have won, I'm not gonna lie." Geezus...mandoist08-07-2026
- This one has totally lost the plot. She is about to cross the racism line in her hatred for Russian people. NEWSFLASH DARLING -- Russian majority of citizens (and your ex-Colleagues whom you shamed) are not who you should be aiming at. Grow up.mandoist08-07-2026
- Why do all these "experts" feel the need to publicly "tell players" what they need to do, or what they're doing wrong?? How about this -- if you're so concerned with a player's situation actually take the time to contact the team in question and talk directly to them. Yapping in public media is rarely, if ever, helpful.mandoist07-07-2026
- Gee... preferential treatment all the way to the end? STOP IT WTA & WIMPLEDON !!! This entire WILLIAMS CHARADE is 100% unfair to young upcoming players who legitimately earned a shot at a Wildcard. The whole scenario with these freebies to The Williams' is pathetic and barely within the rules (which have been bent like a pretzel to accomodate them). The lamest excuse this time is "...she is a top draw". How does that apply to Wimbledon which is sold-out in advance? Stop enabling this abhorrent "Look at me" behavior. If they want to make believe they can compete -- LET THEM PLAY QUAILIFIERS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.mandoist06-07-2026
- Is it not clear there is a mental issue here? I mean, her judgement is very suspect given her personal life 'experiences'.mandoist06-07-2026
- Are you kidding me with this soft "article"??? WTF?? Djerkovic should be DISQUALIFIED just as anyone else at WimPledon would have been for his behavior!! So what you should be writing about is how the stuffed shirts on Wimpledon's executive board and ATP can no longer hide, nor lie about, their FAVORITISM. We now have seen (and heard) that, as in politics and world of CEO's, "who" you are can afford Elitists the luxury of escaping the usual penalties according to their own bona fide rules/reg's. Not totally surprising coming from organizations which perform special rule-breaking stunts as giving the undeserving, unranked Williams' some young upcoming player's Wildcards. Neither Williams earned these WC's... let them enter via Qualifiers like anyone else!!!mandoist06-07-2026
- Real fans of the sport, that's who.mandoist06-07-2026
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