Alexandra Eala had her first opening-round loss on Tour since Bad Homburg, as the World No. 18 went down to unheralded Tatiana Prozorova at the Singapore Open. While the loss attracted a lot of attention, given Eala’s rise as one of the sport’s top stars, legendary tennis coach Rick Macci did not read too much into the result.

“The Philippine machine is going to lose. Nobody goes undefeated,” Macci wrote on X. “The match in front of you that day, that hour, that minute, that second is the most important thing. But winning and losing develop mental strength because all those yesterdays lead to tomorrow.”

Given that Macci has been on the coaching circuit since the 1990s, the veteran coach has seen the ups and downs of the sport, given he has coached the Williams sisters, Jennifer Capriati, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova.

Having started the year strong with a semifinal in Auckland, Eala’s results dipped over the rest of the hard-court events in Australia and the Middle East, and then during the Sunshine Double. After a first-round exit at the French Open, the Filipino player picked up form, winning a challenger event on grass in Birmingham and reaching the semifinal in Berlin, which included a win over the World No. 1, Elena Rybakina.

Eala had her most high-profile win of the year when she beat defending Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek on Center Court during her fourth-round run at SW19. She later carried her form onto the hard courts, winning her maiden title in Washington. She then had the honor of headlining the night session on Arthur Ashe during the US Open, where she lost in a tight three-set battle against Iva Jovic in the third round.

Given such a sustained period of success, an early loss from Eala was unexpected. The match against Prozorova in Singapore was a three-hour marathon, and the Russian had a day to remember as she came back to win after losing the first and trailing 2-4 in the second set. The match was decided on some key moments, which Macci pointed out.

“Everybody has to understand there is a very fine line between winning and losing. Razor thin margins. Microscopic moments that flip the script by a few inches of a location,” he added on X. “Anybody can beat anybody. The only thing you can MAIL IT IN is the MAIL, and even that sometimes goes to the wrong location. The Philippine Machine is on track going forward, not back.”

Losses have often been turning points in many tennis players’ careers. The likes of Serena Williams underwent a complete change in their team setup after their first opening-round exit at a Slam at the 2012 French Open, which spurred them on to win the next two Majors that same year. Even Coco Gauff spoke about her loss in her maiden Slam final at the 2022 French Open, which was pivotal in changing her approach to the sport and led to her winning the US Open the following year.

As for Eala, the Filipino player will be focused on her national duties, with the World No. 18 set to travel to Nagoya for the Asian Games.

Alexandra Eala will be in action at the Asian Games

Eala won bronze in 2022 in Hangzhou. Being the top seed at the competition, the World No. 18 will have her sights firmly set on the gold, which will be a massive career achievement for her.

Eala’s decision to play the Asian Games has come under a lot of scrutiny as the Filipino player has decided to skip the mandatory WTA 1000 event in China to be in Nagoya. The decision could result in Eala being sanctioned by the WTA, which has a strict precedent of handing out fines and zero-point penalties to players who skip their mandatory commitments.

Despite criticism of her decision, Eala has remained steadfast, as she looks to bring international glory to her country in both singles and doubles at Nagoya.