Alex Eala will need to do something differently if she is to get revenge against Diana Shnaider as they meet again in Tokyo.
Eala lost to Shnaider 7-5, 6-4 last week at the Ningbo Open in her first-ever match against the Russian.
Just one week later with both players competing at the Tokyo Open, Eala beat Mika Stojsavljevic and Talia Gibson to reach the quarter-finals in the Japanese capital, where she will face third seed Shnaider again.
As Eala seeks revenge on Shnaider in Tokyo, it is clear what she needs to improve to get the upper hand on this occasion.
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Alex Eala has shown how she needs to serve against Diana Shnaider
It has been a huge breakout season in 2026 for Eala, who won her first title at the Washington Open, reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and therefore became a top 20 player.
Despite all of the success she has achieved this year, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding Eala needing to improve her serve, which is something that was apparent during her defeat to Shnaider in Ningbo.
In this match, Eala had an alarming first serve percentage and first serve win percentage, which was only just over 50% and made it difficult for the Filipina to hold serve, displayed by the six times Shnaider broke her.
While Eala’s serve needs some technical tweaks, which will likely not be made until the off-season, she has shown that it can be significantly more effective than it was in Ningbo. This includes in her most recent match, as Eala hit nine aces against Gibson.
This was the most aces Eala has hit in a single match in 2026, and she also had a much higher first serve percentage and first serve win percentage than against Shnaider. There is no doubt that Shnaider is a better player than Gibson and will likely possess a greater threat on return, but Eala’s first serve percentage should not actually be impacted by her opponent.
| Alex Eala’s serve | Vs Diana Shnaider (Ningbo) | Vs Talia Gibson (Tokyo) |
| Aces | 1 | 9 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 2 |
| First Serve % | 58% | 65% |
| First Serve Win % | 51% | 72% |
| Second Serve Win % | 47% | 48% |
| Games Broken | 6 | 2 |
However, the serve may not be the only issue for Eala, who has struggled against left-handed players like Shnaider. Eala, herself, is left-handed, but she has never beaten any of the other left-handed players who are currently ranked inside the top 100.
That is not the only issue for Eala, who has lost nine of her last 10 matches against players ranked between 11 and 20. Shnaider is currently the world number 13 and will be hoping to worsen this record for Eala when they face each other again in Tokyo on Friday, October 30.
