Eala embraces mental toll of playing at high level

ALEXANDRA "Alex" Eala's breakout season at the WTA tour last year ultimately sent her to the big stage this season, playing in the 500s, 1000s, and Grand Slams.

The Filipino tennis ace is getting used to playing at this level and the popularity that comes with it.

"It does take a little getting used to. I've warmed up to it for sure," said Eala in a Tennis Channel interview after her third round win over Magda Linette at the Miami Open Sunday.

"The facilities are amazing at these events. We're treated really well."

While this has always been Eala's dream, the 20-year-old said playing high-level tennis every single week actually takes a toll on her mental health.

She continues to learn how to take it on the chin.

"It's definitely taken a toll mentally but that's also the process of becoming a better player and a more mature person is knowing how to handle that," said Eala.

"One of the things I'm learning to do is to kind of switch off the tennis mode, fill my cup outside of tennis so I think that really helps."

World No. 29 and 31st seed Eala needs to turn that switch on again, as she faces No. 14 and 13th seed Karolina Muchova in the round of 16 Monday night in Manila.

Eala knows she can't let her guard down.

"The biggest thing I've had to adjust to is of course the level of players. Every match is a very high level of competition," said Eala.

"You don't really have room to let your guard down and it's very demanding, but I'm happy that I'm able to play some good tennis and see progress in my game."

Meanwhile, Eala improved to 17th place with 711 points in the singles live race for the WTA Finals.

The Filipino tennis ace was running 19th before the Miami Open but jumped to her latest live ranking after reaching the fourth round Sunday.

Eala is ranked 24th in the official WTA Finals race with 591 points.

It will be updated once the Miami Open finishes next week.

The top eight in the singles race qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia slated from November 1 to 8.

The singles race is not the same as the singles rankings, where Eala is ranked 29th and 45th in the live rankings.

The singles race only accumulates players' points from the current season (2026 in this case) and resets afterward, while the singles rankings accumulate players' points over the last 12 months.

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