Alex Eala heads into the Asian Swing with her peers once again highlighting what she brings to the WTA Tour, both as a player and as a person.

The 21-year-old said she was “excited” to begin her Singapore Open campaign this week, adding that the event is “Closer to home, so I’m very happy”. She opens against either world No 152 Sofia Costoulas or world No 178 Tatiana Prozorova, with Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva possible later-round opponents in the WTA 500 field.

After Singapore, Eala is set to represent her country at the Asian Games, and she will miss the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing later this month.

As play gets underway, sixth seed and wildcard Leylah Fernandez spoke warmly about Eala’s influence. She said this week, “Alex is such an amazing player, and most importantly such an amazing person. She’s super kind, super humble. She always has a smile on her face.

“I know getting on tour, the Filipino community are super supportive of their players, and I felt that welcome when I came on tour.

“Wherever I was around the world there was always a beautiful crowd that was supporting me, and to have Alex there too really shows how much the Filipino community loves to support one of their own. So it’s really nice.”

World No 70 Alycia Parks also weighed in, saying the attention around Eala is “always fun” and that her popularity is “good for tennis”.

Elsewhere, Iva Jovic, who is at a career-high of 13, discussed the challenge of facing players she knows well, including Eala and Zeynep Sonmez. The 18-year-old, fresh from defending her title in Guadalajara, said, “It’s a strange one, but I think all of us are professional, and when we step on the court, we do our best to win, and all of that is aside, but I have no problems being friends and still being competitors.

“I don’t think it messes up anything on the court, and they’re both of those girls you mentioned are one of the best and nicest people, so I’m really grateful to have them in my life.”

Jovic defeated Eala in three sets in the third round of the US Open earlier this month. The two could meet again in 2026, with the American leading their head-to-head 3-0.

Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou has taken aim at what he sees as a growing habit on the ATP and WTA Tours, arguing that several players are too quick to frame painful losses in positive terms.

Carlos Alcaraz, Alex Eala, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula all drew scrutiny from Mouratoglou after their US Open exits, with each of them saying they were satisfied with aspects of their performances. Alcaraz, the defending champion, fell to Ben Shelton in four sets in the quarter-final, then spoke about being proud of his effort and happy to leave the court with a smile.

“It was close. It was close. So I’m just not going to be disappointed about don’t getting the win at the end. You know, I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought,” he said.

“You know, after the third set, physically I was really tired, but you know, I found a way to push myself up and, you know, physically giving extra.”

The world No 3 added: “You know, I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.”

Eala, beaten by Iva Jovic in the third round, and Swiatek, who lost to Zheng Qinwen in the round of 16, also described their matches in similar terms. Pegula, meanwhile, said there was little she could do after falling in straight sets to Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final.

Mouratoglou, writing on LinkedIn, said he was not convinced by that reaction. He pointed to Alcaraz’s long battle on court and argued that champions are defined by how deeply they dislike losing. In his view, no winning culture can coexist with acceptance of defeat.

The coach, who worked with Serena Williams from 2012 to 2022, also suggested Alcaraz may have arrived with limited expectations after a four-month injury absence and his first tournament since the Barcelona Open. But he said a player of that level should still believe the title is there to be won.

For Mouratoglou, the issue is not only etiquette after defeat, but a broader shift in attitude. He ended by suggesting the pattern is now hard to ignore: “So I guess it’s a trend.”

Carlos Alcaraz has been put forward as a contender for a major haul in the coming years after returning to competition at the US Open following more than four months away with a wrist issue.

His decision to come back at Flushing Meadows raised questions because he had also skipped Cincinnati, and there was clear concern that heading straight into best-of-five-set tennis might prove too much. Instead, the early signs suggest the Spaniard is fit again and already moving toward his best form before the 2026 season is over.

Although Ben Shelton’s New York run ended in the quarter-finals, the seven-time major winner has still drawn strong backing from Rick Macci. Serena Williams’ former coach believes Alcaraz can lift at least two Grand Slams, and possibly three, in 2027. Macci also feels the 23-year-old will be even stronger mentally, a prospect that would not be welcome for world No 1 Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and the rest of the field.

Macci wrote, ” The Spanish Magician, barring injury in 2027, will take another step towards rare air and bag at least 2, maybe 3 Grand Slams. What I saw mentally from him at the U.S. WIDE OPEN was another level of you cannot make this up.

“From adversity and fear, you find another gear from ear to ear. He showed me and the world more superpowers after not being in combat for 139 days.

“Most observers do not understand or appreciate what he did and how he did it. Forget the winning and losing as that to me is a by product. Next year he will be match tougher and even better mentally and locked in deeper and rougher.”

Alcaraz’s absence has pushed him down to third in the ATP Tour rankings and fourth in the Race. He sits more than 4,500 points behind US Open champion Zverev in the rankings, while Zverev and Sinner are expected to battle for year-end No 1.

Zverev has won two majors this year, helped by the fact that Sinner and Alcaraz were either missing or did not reach the final. Novak Djokovic remains a factor, but with the Serbian now down to 11 in the rankings, turning 40 next year and facing increasing health concerns, his major prospects are in question.

Sinner is scheduled to return after a knee injury that ruled him out of this year’s US Open. If Macci’s forecast proves accurate and Alcaraz collects three majors in 2027, the remainder of the tour will have a major challenge on its hands.