APART from the current world's number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, top seed Iga Świątek of Poland is the most dangerous player around as she has proven many times—winning 25 Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour–level singles titles, including six major titles: four at the French Open, one at Wimbledon and one at the US Open.

In comparison, however, our very own rising star, Alexandra 'Alex' Eala, who is now at No. 40, may have failed winning tour titles but she has overshadowed the Pole's ranking by being a crowd-drawer and certainly the box office in almost all arenas where she has played.

Noteworthy, though, is the fact that Alex had once beaten Świątek in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, knocking the 23-year-old Polish netter out of the tournament for an early exit. Despite this, the Polish netter got back at Eala in the Madrid Open, avenging her stunning loss and proceeded to reach the finals to face the eventual winner Sabalenka.

Once again comparing the two, Alex appears often to start strong but subsequently fizzle out, failing to reach the final stage of winning the championship. On the other hand, Iga at times takes the scenic route to defeat her opponents, starting slow but only to overwhelm them in the end with her powerful backhand.

The world's no. 2 highlighted this come-from-behind talent in her matchup against Russian-Australian Daria Kasatkina whom she defeated in the third round to reach the Qatar Open quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive year. Świątek was far from her best in the opening set and made easy errors, but locked in from the second set onwards and never looked back.

So, we ask now if our very own Alex Eala could do a repeat over her Madrid nemesis? Moreover, what does she need to win titles and beat top players?

There's no doubt our Filipina sensation is pure box-office and no matter where she plays, the support she attracts from tennis fans is simply electrifying. She literally feeds of that energy during her matches, as was evident in her run to the recent quarter-finals in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open and, although she made an early exit in Qatar, her debut appearance in Dubai next week is sure to draw in crowds by the thousands.

Eala's rise up the WTA rankings has also been something to behold and with her current ranking at 40th, she has made up nearly 100 places in the last 12 months. She has already won over 200 matches on the WTA Tour and although she hasn’t won a WTA Tour title yet— mher best so far has been making the WTA 250 final at Eastbourne the previous year, during which she also won her first WTA 125 Challenger title at Guadalajara Open Akron championships in Zapopan, Mexico.

And who can forget her fantastic run as a wildcard at the Miami Open, where she beat Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Madison Keys of the United States and Świątek as well before losing to Jessica Pegula, also of the US, in the semi-finals.

In that magical run last year, Alex was hailed as the first Filipino to reach a WTA 1000 event semi-final, the first Filipino woman to defeat a major champion at a tour-level event and the first wildcard in history to defeat three major champions in straight sets at a single WTA event.

These are incredible statistics, but with every new season, expectations from her also grows steeply. A very likeable player because of her humility and sportsmanship, the left-handed counter-puncher from Quezon City has proven she can compete from the baseline and absorb pace against top players.

However, holding serve consistently under pressure remains a key factor in Eala's play. This is what separates the elite players from the rest. Against the tour’s best returners, first-serve precision and variation are key and this is where Eala’s improvement can make her a big threat to the top women players.

With a height of just 1.75 meters (5.88 feet), she is not tall by tennis standards and perhaps lacks the power and variety of the big-servers in the game like Kazakhstani Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina and American 2025 French Open titleholder Cori Dionne 'Coco' Gauff. She has only 7 aces so far this season, as against Rybakina's 75. Add to that 29 double faults and it becomes clear which part of her game needs improving at this point.

In truth, Eala already has the tools and competitive instincts to sharpen her God-given talent, so it’s only a matter of refinement rather than reinvention that us need for her to finally win a major title that would place her among the wirld's tennis icons.

Still, it isn’t any major cause for concern just yet, but it is certainly an area that Alex should be focusing on, particularly with the rapid rise of many young players around her—with the likes of 18-year-old Mirra Andreea of Russia, Iva Jovic of the US, who is also 18, 19-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada and Maya Joint of Australia, also 19. All four teeners have won a WTA Tour title in their brief careers so far.

Finally, Eala’s superb returning is in stark contrast to her serving struggles, which is unsurprising given her background. We must remember, she emerged through Rafael Nadal’s academy and we all know the Spaniard’s mastery in tennis.

The bright part, though, is that Alex possesses immense mental strength, a very useful attribute that helps her stay in matches that are seemingly lost. And with the crowd getting behind her no matter who her opponent is, we wouldn’t be surprised if she is a seeded player by the time the French Open begins three months from now.