Alex Eala is gearing up for her third clay-court tournament of the season, fresh from two early exits in Linz and Stuttgart.
Both events represented tough draws for the 20-year-old, who suffered defeats to Jelena Ostapenko and Leylah Fernandez, respectively.
However, she will hope to improve on the sole win she has managed from these two tournaments in Madrid, where she is scheduled to play next.
The Filipina talent could arguably have not had better preparation for her trip to the Spanish capital, having had the chance to practice with arguably the best female clay-court player of her generation, Iga Swiatek.
Greg Rusedski has now explained exactly what Alexandra Eala will gain from this session, speaking on the latest episode of his podcast.
How Alex Eala can benefit from Iga Swiatek practice session
First asked about whether Eala’s practice session with Swiatek will have helped her, the former British number one simply replied: “No question.”
He then delved deeper into the relationship shared between these two top competitors, noting: “They had this lovely picture where they showed them at the [Rafa Nadal Academy] graduation ceremony for Eala. And Swiatek was the one giving the speech for the day.
What is the best win of Alexandra Eala’s career so far? 🤔
Iga Swiatek in Miami, Clara Tauson at the US Open, Jasmine Paolini in Dubai, or a different match?
“For me, it’s great to step up the level. You want to see if you can do it with the very best at the highest level. And she’s beaten Swiatek already. She’s beaten a lot of great players. Why not?
“For me, I’m always optimistic about her. I always think she’s challenging herself. She has a great team of people around her. She’s fully committed, and she’s got great support.
“And everything’s kind of new at the moment. We’ve talked about, yes, the serve needs to be better. Yes, when she comes [up against] a big hitter, sometimes she struggles and gets hit off the court. But you’ve got to consistently put yourself out there.
“She’s gonna get stronger physically, she’s gonna get more tactically astute, she’s gonna start hitting the ball harder. And she’s got a great training facility. So there’s no reason why she can’t add those areas.
“And the team around her is very good. When you have Rafa as your adviser, it doesn’t get any better (smiles).”
How many points does Alex Eala have to defend on clay?
This portion of the season represents a crucial period for Eala, given the opportunity it represents to jump back up the world rankings.
After all, despite another solid run in Miami, the fact that she had semi-final points to defend meant she was always going to suffer a drop.
She now sits 44th in the live rankings, but fortunately, she should take a huge step forward in the coming weeks.
Does anybody else even come close to Alex Eala’s popularity right now?
Across the next four events, Eala has a combined 70 ranking points to defend and so many to potentially gain.
Madrid accounts for just 35 of those points as well.