Eala's coach is demanding: "Sometimes being higher up doesn't mean improving"

Alexandra Eala has become the new great superstar of the WTA. The Filipino tennis player is having an excellent 2026 in which she has broken into the top 20 and has achieved major titles that place her as one of the best players of the year. However, her coach Joan Bosch has been quite demanding and has stated that they cannot relax in order to continue raising the bar. 

Since the last US Open, Eala has struggled to accumulate two consecutive victories, experiencing a streak of poor results that ended at the WTA Tokyo, where she reached the quarterfinals. This has not prevented her from staying at number 18 in the WTA rankings, but it has been a wake-up call to avoid complacency and focus on having a good preseason in order to take another step up in 2027.

In an interview with Dyan Castillejo, Bosch acknowledged that "sometimes, being higher up does not mean improving. Improving means doing better than last week; simply improving. That is what we will try to do. If not, we will have to sit down and think about it and keep working." Having a good player is as important as having a good coach who keeps your feet on the ground and is aware that more can always be given, no matter how well things are going, and that is something that Joan is quite clear about.

Bosch praises Eala's qualities

That said, the Spanish coach also took time to praise the great qualities of the Filipino tennis player. "Alex has many good things, like all players; they are among the top 20, and to be in the top 20, some things need to be done well. And she keeps improving, so I wouldn’t say just one. I believe that she has a good forehand, a good backhand, good returns. Her serve is also improving. Mentally she is good, and physically she is improving as well."

Nevertheless, this is something he takes for granted considering that she is rubbing shoulders with the best players on the circuit. “Being there, you can’t have too many problems because the competition is very strong. Everyone plays well; there are many players who are improving a lot, so the new and young players are also trying to reach the top. There is a lot of work to be done, and the goal is to work day by day, and we will see; we can continue like this.” For now, this has been Eala's year of affirmation, and in 2027 all eyes will be on her to see how far she can go.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El entrenador de Eala, exigente: "A veces estar más arriba no significa mejorar"