TIME and again throughout her young professional career, one criticism that has followed Alex Eala is her service game.
Various analysts, former players, coaches, and even fans have pointed to it as the area of her game most in need of improvement.
Ironically, that perceived weakness became her biggest edge against defending Wimbledon champion and world No. 3 Iga Swiatek.
READ: Iga Swiatek left searching for answers after another loss to Eala
The Polish star admitted as much herself after falling, 7(11)-6(9), 6-2, to 30th-ranked Eala in the third round of the Championships.
"I think it was tougher mentally for me to accept these missed returns from the slow serves. I got to say it's much tougher to return a serve like that than a normal serve," Swiatek explained.
"I know it was slow. I know exactly how it's going to come to me. It's such a different rhythm than what I usually have a chance to return."
In 2025, Eala, then outside the Top 140, announced herself to the tennis world by stunning then-second-ranked Swiatek at the Miami Open to take the first meeting of their budding rivalry.
Swiatek responded with a victory on clay in Madrid, but on the famed Centre Court at Wimbledon, Eala proved her first win was no fluke, frustrating the Polish star once more.
Slow on the uptake
"Iga said that? I guess I did my job well," Eala said with a smile during Sunday's press conference.
Eala has long joked about her serve, and she has never denied the role it plays in her matches, no matter the result.
"I've never been the biggest server in comparison to a lot of girls here. I do my best to use my serve as an advantage, and I have a lot of other strengths, although I do believe it's been improving a lot," she said.
Since stepping onto the grass courts that jumpstarted in her WTA 125 title in Birmingham, Eala has shown encouraging progress on serve, with critics noting improved variety, placement, and spin.
Following her title run, she competed at Queen's Club, Berlin, and Bad Homburg before arriving at Wimbledon.
Absorbing every lesson she can at the highest level, Eala remains determined to keep her breakthrough run going.
"These intense moments at this level of competition, essentially on the biggest stage in the world for tennis, I'm grateful to be in that position this year," she said.
And the work continues, as she heads to the round of 16 clash against No. 15 Jasmine Paolini, with Eala hoping to replicate her February victory over the Italian in Dubai.
"She's a great player. I'm expecting a tough match. It wasn't an easy match in Dubai, and it's not going to be an easy match here either," she said.
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