{
  "id": 11808742,
  "title": "Serena Williams’ former coach says one area of Alex Eala’s game is ‘average’ as she fails to win Asian Games gold",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/serena-williams-former-coach-says-one-area-of-alex-ealas-game-is",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-04T01:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/serena-williams-former-coach-says-010000290.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rick Macci, Serena Williams' former coach, has expressed that one aspect of Alex Eala's game is deemed 'average' compared to other top players in women's tennis. Despite Eala's impressive performance, reaching the bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, Macci noted her movement as a potential limiting factor. The top seeds and gold-medal favorites Wang Xiyu and Zhang Shuai both defeated Eala in the semi-finals. Macci praised Eala's exceptional skills, such as her ability to control the center of the court, eat serves, and maintain mental composure, but highlighted her average movement as a drawback. While elite servers like Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka possess powerful serves that aid their success, Macci believes Eala's lack of exceptional movement may prevent her from realizing her full potential. In fact, she currently ranks 18th in the WTA rankings and has defeated seven top-10 players this season. With a strong opportunity to climb the rankings at the Wuhan Open, Eala will be eager to secure her first matches at this prestigious event.",
  "summary": "Alex Eala won a bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The Filipina was the top seed and gold-medal favourite, but failed...",
  "key_points": [
    "Rick Macci, Serena's former coach, calls Alex Eala's movement 'average'.",
    "Eala reached bronze at 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.",
    "Despite strong performance, Eala lost to top seeds Wang Xiyu and Zhang Shuai."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Alex Eala's limited movement may hinder her from reaching her full potential, despite her exceptional skills like controlling the court and maintaining mental composure, according to Serena Williams' former coach Rick Macci.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "Japan sets record with 83 gold medals at Asian Games",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/japan-sets-record-with-83-gold-medals-at-asian-games",
        "published": "2026-10-04T01:42:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}