Alex Eala told to ‘dramatically improve’ one area after early exit from Miami Open

Karolina Muchova ended Alex Eala’s impressive start to the Miami Open on Monday, bringing her run to an abrupt close.

Eala had looked strong early in the tournament, picking up wins over Laura Siegemund and Magda Linette that gave her a real boost of confidence.

But Muchova, ranked 14th in the world, proved a different challenge entirely. She overpowered Eala 6-0, 6-2 in exactly one hour, making it clear from the outset who was in control.

Muchova dominated with her serve throughout the match, winning 80 percent of points on both first and second serves—a level of consistency that left Eala struggling to keep up.

During the match coverage, Coco Gauff’s former coach pointed out areas where Eala will need to develop if she wants to compete with top-tier players like Muchova more consistently in future tournaments.

Brad Gilbert believes Alex Eala needs to work on her serve

Brad Gilbert, the former coach of Andy Murray, Andre Agassi and Coco Gauff, is one of the most successful and well-respected coaches in tennis history.

The American, who played a starring role in the success of Andre Agassi during the 1990s, paid close attention to Alex Eala’s match against Karolina Muchova on Monday.

While Eala was trailing 0-6, 0-3 to the Czech star, Gilbert identified the Filipina’s serve as an area that requires significant improvement moving forwards.

“Muchova [is] all over Eala, 9-0,” Gilbert said in a post on X [formerly Twitter].

“For someone of her height and especially being lefty needs to dramatically improve first and second serve.”

Despite her struggles on serve against Muchova, Eala has proven herself to be an exceptional ball striker over recent years.

Eala will have time off before her next event, giving her a chance to rest up and work on areas that need improvement. She’ll be back in action in two weeks’ time.

Eala set to play next at the Linz Open

Looking ahead, Eala is expected to make her next appearance at the Linz Open, scheduled for 6-12 April.

The tournament was first played in 1991 as a Tier Five event, with Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière taking the inaugural title.

The event has grown in prestige over time and will be held as a WTA 500 event for the first time in 2024.

This year’s field includes Barbora Krejcikova, Emma Navarro and Daria Kasatkina, alongside returning champion Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Eala will be hoping for a strong showing after losing significant ranking points in Miami. She is projected to drop 16 spots to world number 45 following her recent defeat.

Read more: