Bosch: Eala still far from satisfied

Alex Eala’s rise into the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) top 20 reflects her all-around game, but coach Joan Bosch believes the Filipina still has room to improve as she builds on her breakthrough season.

Bosch said Eala has developed several strengths that helped her establish herself among the world’s best while continuing to make progress in other areas.

“To be top 20, you need to do a few things good,” Bosch said, referring to Eala, who reached a career-high world No. 17 and is competing in the Hong Kong Tennis Open against Australian qualifier Emerson Jones at press time after world No. 59 Alycia Parks pulled out due to shoulder injury.

“She has good forehand, good backhand, return is good. Serve is also improving. Mentality is also good. Physically, she’s improving also.”

The 51-year-old Spanish coach stressed that improvement should not be measured solely by rankings, but by how Eala performs when she faces the same opponent again.

“To be higher is not to get better sometimes. So, to be better, it means to do better than last week; just to be better,” Bosch, also a mentor at the world-famous Rafael Nadal Academy, added.

Eala fell to world No. 11 and eventual champion Diana Shnaider of Russia in the quarterfinal of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, but Bosch said the team would focus on learning from the match and making adjustments.

“That’s what we will try. If not, we have to sit and think about it and continue working,” he said.

Eala acknowledged that her breakthrough results have raised expectations, but said she understands the work needed to maintain her level on tour.

“Having shown a certain level and shown myself that I’m capable of certain things, I think it’s natural for expectations to rise,” Eala said.

“But so do the demands of the sport and the level you’re playing at. Although it’s super important to have high standards, it’s also important to understand those demands and that producing a certain level takes a lot of work.”

Despite the fluctuations of a long season, Eala said she remains proud of how she and her team have handled the campaign.

“I’m super proud of this whole year, even the past couple of weeks — how I’ve been working and training. I’m super proud of that,” she said.

“I think I’ve done everything I possibly could have done. I’ve enjoyed it, and I’m super happy with our results.”