Apparently, the moment Alex Eala cracked the WTA top 20, she also signed an imaginary contract to win every match.
She is now world No. 19, just one spot below her career-high No. 18, and suddenly everyone has an opinion about what she should be doing, how she should be playing, and whether she deserves to do anything else at all.
Since when did a higher ranking become a guarantee of victory? Tennis rankings reflect accumulated results, not a lifetime warranty against losing. Every opponent has a racket, a game plan, and a fighting chance.
Sometimes, the other player is simply better that day. Why should we fault Alex for her opponent’s better performance? Is the player across the net supposed to roll over the moment Alex serves? The racket in her hand is not a scepter, and the court is not a kingdom where everyone must bow. Her ranking earns her respect, not automatic victories.
Please, let us rewind.
When Alex burst into the spotlight at the Miami Open last year, she was ranked No. 140. We cheered as she toppled higher-ranked opponents, including then world No. 1 Iga Świątek, on her way to the semifinals. That magical run propelled her to No. 65. Her subsequent Wimbledon campaign helped lift her further up the rankings, eventually reaching No. 28.
Back then, we celebrated the breakthrough. Now that she is knocking on the door of the world’s elite, some seem determined to turn every loss into a performance review.
Apparently, we love an underdog but struggle with a champion in progress.
And consider her response when asked whether she was going for gold at the Asian Games: “You think I’m going for the first round?”
There you have it. Eala is no longer simply happy to be in the room. She is there to compete, to win, and to chase the biggest prizes. That is precisely the mentality we should want from a world-class athlete.
But wanting to win is not the same as being guaranteed to win. Confidence is not clairvoyance. Ambition does not mean every match will go according to plan.
At this level, opponents study your game, exploit your weaknesses, and adjust their tactics. There are technical details to fix, strategies to refine, and mental and physical demands to manage.
Even the best players in the world lose. Frequently, spectacularly, and sometimes to opponents they were expected to beat.
So let her breathe. Let her process the losses. Let her work with her coaches, rethink her approach, make adjustments, and improve. She does not owe us an immediate winning streak to prove that she takes her career seriously. The scoreboard tells us who won that match. It does not tell us everything about what an athlete is learning.
And then there is the complaint about her endorsements and visibility beyond the court.
Alex has partnerships with Nike, Globe Telecom, Bank of Philippine Islands, and Babolat. Good for her. Being marketable is not a sporting offense. A professional athlete can train hard, compete fiercely, fulfill sponsorship commitments, and build a public profile. These things are not mutually exclusive.
A tennis career is finite. Bodies have limits, injuries happen, and competitive windows do not stay open forever. Why begrudge her the opportunity to build her brand while she can? She is an athlete, not a machine designed to manufacture victories on demand.
We celebrated when she was No. 140. We cheered when the world began to notice her. But if our support disappears the moment she loses a few matches, were we ever supporting Alex—or merely the winning streak?
She is carrying the hopes of a country still learning how to support a world-class tennis player without turning every setback into a national referendum.
So, please, put down the pitchforks.
Cheer when she wins. Stand by her when she loses. Offer constructive criticism when warranted, not unsolicited coaching disguised as outrage.
Alex owes us her best effort, not a perfect record.
She is No. 19 in the world, not a finished product.
