Eala: I’m not there yet

Alex Eala believes she still has a lot to prove before being considered as one of the top tennis players in the world.

Currently at No. 73 in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, the 20-year-old Eala said she still has to work on her game if she wishes to make deep runs in tougher competitions.

Eala bowed to Linda Fruhvirtova, 5-7, 7-6, 1-6, in the Round of 32 of the Birmingham Open on Wednesday morning (Manila time) in the United Kingdom.

“My level is there and I show that at times, but there are certain reasons why these players are Top 10 and I’m not there yet,” Eala told Tennis365.com.

“That’s not to say I don’t have the potential to be there one day, but at the moment, I still have a lot more to work on in my game.”

“It is a little bit of everything I need to improve on. Mentally, technically. You look at a top 10 player and they have so many matches each year.”

Ever since her spectacular run in the Miami Open last March, the Rafael Nadal Academy graduate has seen a lot of early exits in women’s singles tournaments.

Eala’s best run post-Miami Open was in the women’s doubles of the Italian Open last May where she made it as far as the quarterfinal with world No. 2 Coco Gauff.

Still, Eala remains upbeat and belies it’s only a matter of time before she can make another deep run in a major tournament.

“Nobody is perfect and you are always going to have a chance in every match. It all depends on you and how you perform in those moments,” Eala said.

“My self-belief has always been there, but when you have a run like that, it makes you have even more belief. Now I feel like I’m in a good moment. It has helped me and sparked a bit more belief.”