Romwel Anzures

Philippines' Alexandra Eala celebrates winning the first set against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles third round tennis match on the sixth day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2026. Henry Nicholls, AFP

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<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1787385061753IMG_1688.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Philippines&#x27; Alexandra Eala celebrates winning the first set against Poland&#x27;s Iga Swiatek during their women&#x27;s singles third round tennis match on the sixth day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2026. Henry Nicholls, AFP.MANILA — Alex Eala continues to climb the WTA rankings after a breakthrough 2026 campaign, but for head coach Joan Bosch, the Filipina tennis star’s rise cannot be measured by numbers alone.</div>Bosch believes that the 21-year-old’s best is still ahead of her, pointing to the areas of her game that can continue to develop as she enters the 2026 US Open with a career-high WTA ranking of No. 20.“My idea is that she could improve on everything,” Bosch said in an interview with <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://youtu.be/fGBMBgd9T9E">Diary of a Professional Tennis Coach</a>. “From serve, to return, forehand, backhand, footwork, endurance, and speed, that’s the plan,” he added.<div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/8/14/-i-want-to-be-eala-philippine-sensation-sparks-tennis-boom-at-home-1139">&#x27;I want to be Eala&#x27;: Philippine sensation sparks tennis boom at home</a></div>Eala, who is currently No. 20 in the live WTA rankings, has enjoyed a memorable 2026 season, highlighted by her first WTA Tour singles title at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington earlier this month.But for Bosch, Eala’s progress has been evident since he first saw her more than a decade ago at the Rafa Nadal Academy, when she was in her early teens.“I thought two years ago she could do it, and if you ask me before, I saw her one day, and I was talking to one of her coaches, she was 14 or 15, and I said to [the coach], for sure, this girl, it’s impossible not to be in the Top 100,” Bosch said.Since then, Eala has continued to reach greater heights.After breaking into the Top 50 earlier in 2026, Bosch said it was only a matter of time before the Filipina star reached the Top 20.“To win five, six matches in a row against Top 10 players, then against Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, and Jessica Pegula, maybe I would say: ‘I wish.’ But yes, I knew that she could be in the Top 20,” he said of Eala, who was already at No. 28 at that time.However, Bosch said that at Eala’s current age, her ranking should not be used as a gauge of her ceiling.“Ranking for sure is important when you have a career of 10 years, but we will know if the [Top 20] ranking is good or not, not now,” he stressed. “Maybe in five years or in 10 years.”Instead, Bosch believes the focus now should be on how Eala can continue to improve, despite already putting the Philippines on the world stage of tennis.“Alex is already good. The question is how good she will be? No one knows. What’s for sure, there are only 19 players with better ranking,” he said. “But this is not the question. The goal is how many years, matches, and tournaments she would give her best. This is the only goal.”“If tomorrow, we play and we lose, but we have a good match, that’s not a bad thing. That’s part of the game,” Bosch added. “Now she’s in 20, close to the Top 10. But again, that’s not the goal, the goal is to be better.”And for Bosch, if there is one player who could live up to these expectations, it would be Eala.“All these things are a process, but I know that she can do it because she knows how to learn,” he said.

Alex Eala continues to climb the WTA rankings after a breakthrough 2026 campaign, but for head coach Joan Bosch, the Filipina tennis star’s rise cannot be measured by numbers alone.

Alex Eala continues to climb the WTA rankings after a breakthrough 2026 campaign, but for head coach Joan Bosch, the Filipina tennis star’s rise cannot be measured by numbers alone.

Tennis: Alex Eala’s rise not measured by rankings, says coach Bosch

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Tennis: Alex Eala’s rise not measured by rankings, says coach Bosch

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 22, 2026 04:12 PM PHT

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tennis

Alex Eala

Joan Bosch

Rafa Nadal Academy

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