The serve is considered the most important shot in tennis, as everything in the point follows from how you hit that first shot. The 21-year-old Philippine sensation Alex Eala has done everything right on the tour since she debuted, but her serve is the most scrutinized part of her game. 

After another early exit, Serena Williams’ former coach has stepped in and described what he believes is wrong and how to fix it. Rick Macci shared his observation about Eala’s serve on X this week. His main focus was that this off-season is the best time to rebuild her serve from scratch. 

“The serve seen at 400 frames a seconds is 100% off as the racquet entry is already in and on the other side of her body creating all the symptoms most see,” the 71-year-old coach wrote.

In simple terms, Macci thinks that Eala’s racquet gets into the loading position too early, even before her legs start to drive, which results in a lack of generation of pace. In his earlier posts, he had said the same thing in other words: the racquet enters “100% too soon” before the legs even join in the serving motion. 

That timing, he argued, costs her acceleration, makes her right side open too early and causes her head to drop. The visible faults, such as an inconsistent toss or a lack of pop, are the result rather than the cause. 

“If her team wants to totally flip the script and go into the lab and make the lefty liability lollipop into a Filipino Flame this one surgical decision will change her career and Game,” Macci concluded. 

This evidence from Ningbo is why he keeps returning to it. This post followed Eala’s exit from the Ningbo Open, where she lost in the round of 16 to Diana Shnaider, 7-5, 6-4, after beating Diane Parry 6-3, 6-1 in the first round. 

Against Shnaider, Eala faced 13 break points and saved seven. She was broken six times and held only five of her 11 service games, and hit only one ace. Her return game created chances, but the serve kept handing them back. It was a similar story at the US Open, where Jovic converted nine of 17 break points in a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 win in the third round.

Serving usually starts with the toss, which is why Macci’s view is interesting. Roger Federer once said at the US Open that “it all starts with a good ball toss.” The 20-time Grand Slam champion, whose serve was considered one of the most unpredictable serves on the tour with 11,478 career aces, 3rd in the all-time ace record, believed that the toss is the most important aspect of the serve, but the toss is not the problem in Eala’s case.  

Macci put forth a different perspective. He says where the racquet comes from and where it finishes are the real problem. It’s a more technical explanation than the common one, and it would account for the fact that changes in her toss or stance have not remedied the situation. 

Her first genuine breakthrough came at the 2025 Miami Open, where her first serve was clocking around 90 mph and her second about 75 mph, and that has remained constant since then. Slow second serves give the returner ample time to step into the baseline and launch an attacking return, making holding serve a constant challenge. Macci said in August that he could see a 115 mph lefty serve if it were rebuilt. 

One of the most crucial aspects of winning a match in tennis is holding serve, and Eala’s results since the US Open demonstrate the cost of falling short. She lost in the first round in Singapore and Wuhan, and she has not strung together two consecutive wins on tour since New York. Her left-handed delivery does lead to natural curve, but it’s vulnerable without pace. 

Eala is a student of the Rafa Nadal Academy, and Nadal, himself a left-hander, has won 22 Grand Slams with a serve that was more effective than overwhelming. The Filipino doesn’t have to be a power server, but even a small improvement would make a big difference in the number of times she holds.