There’s a time when losing is actually good for an athlete, maybe except in boxing.
The same applies to Alex Eala, who lost to WTA World No. 10 Amanda Anisimova at the Cincinnati Open in three sets. While there were tennis fans who felt a letdown on Eala losing to Anisimova, there were those who felt relieved because Eala badly needed rest for the US Open and the successive WTA rounds in Asia as the year closes.
Eala now has a 37-19 win-loss record this year, and that’s a total of 56 matches. That is among the highest for female tennis players. Also, Eala had to battle top-notch players such as Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina (twice), Jessica Pegula, and Naomi Osaka who are all certified tennis royalty.
On the other hand, a surging Sara Bejlek from the Czech Republic has a 22-14 win-loss record, figuring in 36 matches. That’s 20 less matches compared to Eala.
Make no mistake – I admire Bejlek because with her petite frame, she proves that size not a might in tennis. Just see what she did to WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at Cincinnati. Bejlek and Jasmine Paolini (yes, I admire her too) clearly show that tennis is also for Filipinos.
Bejlek making waves at Cincinnati shows rest is important for an athlete, even for the young ones. The Czech is only 20 years old. I mean, imagine if Eala had 10, 15 or 20 less matches at this point?
But then, Eala’s quandary now is she is among the “darlings” in the global tennis world. And it seems that she will not run out of opportunities to figure in major WTA tournaments, including the Grand Slams.
In fact, if I were a tennis event organizer and the one putting down the money, I would go to war to get Eala into the line up because she draws crowds at the gate, and eyeballs over social media. And those are what matter to sponsors, especially big-name sponsors.
Have you seen how the lead organizers or representatives of the recent tennis events Eala figured in smile ear-to-ear or are very happy when interviewed? That’s the Eala impact.
Eala also deserves more respect because a sports figure competing before crowd wildly cheering him or her puts tons of pressures on the athlete. And I mean tons of pressure, because Eala has to at least please the crowd, even if she is drained or injured. How many times have we witnessed that?
In boxing, there are excellent examples of athletes who thrive even with a maddening crowd, such us our very own Manny Pacquiao, Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez, and Tyson Fury of the United Kingdom.
But in boxing, the top guns have the time to “rest” because they have the leverage to dictate when they will fight anew, and even “choose” their opponent. Ask Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Even “aspiring” fighters in boxing also have the luxury of taking time off, especially if their promoters are powerful enough to influence the sanctioning bodies.
In tennis, those are completely impossible as the WTA gives “obligations” to players, most especially those climbing to the top like Eala, to participate in high-level tournaments. I can also imagine how taxing it is for Eala and other tennis players to participate in singles and doubles matches in a certain tournament, because they have to fulfill an “obligation.”
So, when Eala loses, let us look at the positive side of that, which is the chance for her to take a much-needed rest.
And definitely, we want to see Eala well-rested and sharply-focused in the next matches to come, so she can hoist more trophies.
