Rick Macci has suggested that Alex Eala could become part of the race for world No 1, provided she makes a substantial overhaul to one part of her game.

Eala reached a career-best world No 20 last week after advancing to the fourth round at the Canadian Open. Her position has since shifted to 18th in the Live WTA Rankings following a third-round defeat at the Cincinnati Open, where she still managed to win one match. In the WTA Race, which reflects points earned in the current season, the 21-year-old is 15th.

Her progress has also been underlined by a maiden title at the WTA 500 event in Washington DC earlier this month. That result added to the growing interest around her ranking trajectory as the season moves on.

Macci, a former coach of Serena and Venus Williams, took to Twitter/X to argue that Eala’s serve needs biomechanical improvement. He said her foundations from the baseline are already in place.

“Eala has the baseline foundation off either side to give it a ride,” Macci wrote.

He also warned that her movement will be tested by bigger hitters, who will not provide many easy balls. Still, he pointed to possible additions to her game, including the slice and drop shot, as tools that could keep her climbing.

“Her movement will be tested by big hitters as like others they do not give her many sitters.

“She can add pieces to her game like the slice and drop [shot] and that alone will keep sending her near the top.

“Her serve, if a totally science based biomechanical overhaul can be done, look for the Philippine Machine in the future to [be] right in there for number one.”

In a separate post, Macci expanded on the same theme, calling for a science-based approach and stressing that the serve must be corrected from the ground up.

“Looking at the big picture, the Philippine Machine needs to bring in SCIENCE BASED APPROACH with her serve as this is very complex and hard for most to really understand the culprit or origin and not a symptom.

“If her serve is rewired properly from the ground up in sync with the racquet drop Alex has a shot at the top.

“She would have a 115 mph Lefty Laser not a broken Taser. Most of all the second serve would be 95 mph with kick on the ball.”

Eala’s next outing will come in the mixed doubles event at the US Open, where she will partner Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Aryna Sabalenka delivered one of her strongest displays of 2026 to breeze past Wang Xinyu in the third round of the Cincinnati Open, needing only 54 minutes to advance.

The world No. 1 controlled the match from start to finish and completed a 6-1, 6-3 win over the Chinese player, booking a fourth-round meeting with Sara Bejlek. It was another encouraging step for Sabalenka as she continues her search for a first WTA title since the Miami Open in March, following a challenging spell across the clay and grass swings.

Her level in Cincinnati has stood out, and the draw has opened up further with Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic, and Alex Eala already eliminated. Sabalenka also reached an important statistical milestone after this latest victory, moving to 45 round-of-16 appearances at Masters events, the highest total among current WTA Tour players.

That puts her clear of Karolina Pliskova, who had been level with Sabalenka before the win. Elina Svitolina, Iga Swiatek, and Jessica Pegula remain behind her in that category as well, suggesting the record may stay with Sabalenka for some time.

Her route through the tournament has also been helped by Svitolina’s withdrawal before their third-round match because of a right ankle injury. Svitolina had been set to be Sabalenka’s likeliest quarter-final opponent.

If Sabalenka gets past Bejlek, she would face either Wang Xiyu or Madison Keys for a place in the semi-finals. From there, a possible meeting with Coco Gauff could await, followed by a potential final against either Elena Rybakina or Swiatek.

Sabalenka’s fourth-round match with Bejlek is scheduled for Thursday, 20 August, with the order of play still to be confirmed.

Alex Eala is on course to reach a new career milestone in the WTA Rankings even after her third-round exit at the 2026 Cincinnati Open.

The Filipina player was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 by ninth seed Amanda Anisimova in a demanding last-32 match at the WTA 1000 event in Mason, Ohio. It was the first meeting between Eala and the world No 10, the 24-year-old American who has twice finished runner-up at Grand Slams.

Eala entered Cincinnati as the 17th seed and made her tournament debut there. She opened with a first-round bye before defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round. The 21-year-old has still produced a strong North American hard-court campaign, compiling an 8-2 record so far.

Her summer run included five wins at the Washington Open, where she claimed her maiden WTA Tour title. She then added two more victories at the Canadian Open to stretch her winning streak to seven matches before Belinda Bencic ended her progress in the last 16.

Eala began the Cincinnati Open at a career-high world No 20, built on her results in Washington DC and Toronto. By reaching the second round in Cincinnati, she earned 65 ranking points and moved to 2,281 points in total. That has lifted her two places to 18th in the Live WTA Rankings, which would be another best mark.

Her position is not yet secure, though, as players below her in the Live Rankings are still active in Cincinnati and could still move ahead of her.

Before the tournament, Eala explained what she would regard as success in Cincinnati.

“I think it’s just the level that I play,” Eala replied. “And of course, the more matches, the merrier, right?

“But it’s the matches of substance, and it’s the ones that… did I execute what I want to execute? Did I bring the level that I wanted to bring?

“So, if I lose first round, but it’s a really good match, not to say that it’s a successful week, but it wasn’t a bad one. And if I reach the final, then I’ll take that too (laughs).”