{"id":1806919,"date":"2026-03-04T18:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1806919"},"modified":"2026-03-04T18:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T15:00:19","slug":"roger-federers-former-coach-reveals-what-he-likes-about-alex-eala-and-her-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1806919","title":{"rendered":"Roger Federer&#8217;s former coach reveals what he likes about Alex Eala and her game\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Roger Federer\u2019s former coach reveals what he likes about Alex Eala and her game\u00a0<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"04 Mar 2026 6:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"04 Mar 2026 6:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1772647219\"><br \/>\n                            04 Mar 2026 6:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-game-praised-roger-federer-former-coach-indian-wells\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to facebook\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Falex-eala-game-praised-roger-federer-former-coach-indian-wells\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to twitter\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Falex-eala-game-praised-roger-federer-former-coach-indian-wells\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to linkedin\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/\/send\/?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Falex-eala-game-praised-roger-federer-former-coach-indian-wells\" aria-label=\"Share to whatsapp\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Falex-eala-game-praised-roger-federer-former-coach-indian-wells\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a class=\"!text-share-icon hover:!text-share-icon-active flex items-center justify-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" aria-label=\"Follow Tennis365 on Google Search\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Roger Federer\u2019s former coach reveals what he likes about Alex Eala and her game\u00a0\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Alex-Eala-Paul-Annacone-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Alex Eala and Paul Annacone\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Alex Eala with Paul Annacone inset                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Renowned tennis coach and former ATP player Paul Annacone has revealed he is an admirer of Alex Eala\u2019s personality and game as he identified what the Filipina star does well.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alex-eala\">Eala<\/a> is set to play her sixth tournament of the 2026 season in Indian Wells, where she will receive an opening round bye as the 31st seed.<\/p>\n<p>She will face either Dayana Yastremska or Zhang Shuai in the second round at the WTA 1000 tournament before a potential third round showdown with fourth seed Coco Gauff.<\/p>\n<p>The 20-year-old is ranked 32nd in the world \u2014 one place below her career-high position of 31st, which she reached last month.<\/p>\n<p>At her last tournament, the Filipina made an impressive run to the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 in Dubai, where she was beaten by Gauff.<\/p>\n<p>Annacone \u2014 a former world No 12 who coached Roger Federer and Pete Sampras \u2014 was full of praise for Eala during an appearance on Tennis Channel Live.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s got a smile that lights up a room. I remember last year when she beat Iga Swiatek [in Miami] and she kind of did it with a lot of grace and humility,\u201d said Annacone, who currently coaches Taylor Fritz.<\/p>\n<h2>WTA Tour News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-told-where-she-can-improve-martina-navratilova-offers-advice\"><strong>Alex Eala told \u2018where she can improve\u2019 as Martina Navratilova offers advice<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\/alex-ealas-taylor-swift-comparison-popularity\"><strong>Alex Eala\u2019s enormous popularity compared to Taylor Swift by leading voice<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, it was terrific to see her take that match and watch her play after that and watch her try to continue to progress, because I like her game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously she wants to get better than where she is now at 32 in the world, but she\u2019s got a lot of good hand-eye coordination and ability to take the ball early and redirect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the fan stuff is always fun to me because whenever you see players from smaller countries, the fans are so passionate when they get to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former world No 18 Alison Riske-Amritraj was asked if she could remember a women\u2019s star who gets the same support as Eala wherever they go.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d have to say a little bit of [Indian player] Sania Mirza, back in her heyday. Obviously the Indian fans took to her and followed her all around the globe,\u201d said the American.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously not to this extent, and I think the ceiling that Alex Eala has is that much higher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-protected-popularity-warning-michael-jordan-philippines-kim-clijsters\">\u2018Alex Eala must be protected \u2013 she\u2019s like Michael Jordan in the Philippines\u2019, warns tennis great<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roger Federer\u2019s former coach reveals what he likes about Alex Eala and her game\u00a0 Ewan West 04 Mar 2026 6:00 PM Alex Eala with Paul Annacone inset Renowned tennis coach and former ATP player Paul Annacone has revealed he is an admirer of Alex Eala\u2019s personality and game as he identified what the Filipina star [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1806919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1806919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806919\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1806919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1806919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1806919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}