How Alex Eala can enjoy long and prosperous WTA career as injury expert reveals clear plan

An injury expert has shed light on a key change the WTA must make after Alex Eala suffered an injury during her Hong Kong Open final defeat to Claire Liu.

While trailing 4-3 in the first set, Eala called for a medical timeout to have her right knee and thigh examined and strapped. The 21-year-old was in visible pain but bravely played on before dropping nine consecutive games to lose the match.

Although the Filipina confirmed the injury wasn't serious in the post-match press conference at the WTA 500 event, the issue arguably stemmed from pushing beyond her means physically and mentally, with a well-deserved break from tennis now on the cards.

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Injury expert says what WTA must do to combat key problem

An emotional Eala gave an incredible post-loss speech in Hong Kong, thanking the tournament organisers and everyone in her camp who helped her reach incredible heights in 2026.

She will ultimately reflect on a remarkable year in the WTA after rising to No.15 in the rankings and winning her first tour-level singles event at the Washington Open in August.

But the burnout she experienced in the final was brewing for a while. Eala has played more matches than any other player in the WTA this season (70) and competed in a whopping 26 different tournaments.

Currently, WTA players are required to play in at least 20 tournaments, a mandatory rule that Iga Swiatek described as "crazy" and "too intense", while former world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka slammed the schedule as "insane" and previously outlined her intention to skip events.

Many players, including 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, have suffered from the effects of a demanding workload, and a solution has been offered to prevent Eala from suffering the same fate as Raducanu if she continues playing a ridiculous amount of tennis.

Dr. Alireza K. Nazemi, an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine expert at DISC, has suggested that Eala and other highly active WTA players should have "planned recovery blocks" dialled into their schedule to increase their longevity in the sport.

"She’s only 21 and has played more WTA matches than anyone this season. It shows how durable she is, but her youth doesn’t protect her from overuse," Nazemi told SPORTbible.

"She will recover faster, which is great, but if I were advising the team, I’d want planned recovery blocks built into the year and close monitoring over the course of her career so that athletes such as Alex can play for the next decade or even as a lifelong sport, as tennis is to so many people.

When asked about how competing in 20 tournaments a year affects a player's body and increases their chance of injury, Nazemi added: "Tennis is very repetitive. Serving loads the shoulder, elbow and lower back, and the constant stopping, starting, and direction changes load the lower body.

"Every match causes some microscopic tissue damage, which is fine and part of the normal exercise when it’s associated with recovery. However, when there isn’t time for recovery, that’s when we see overuse injuries such as stress fractures, tendinopathy, muscle strains, and more."

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How the WTA plans to reduce workload

Top ATP stars have also regularly complained about the highly demanding schedule. In September 2024, one of the biggest athletes in the men's game, Carlos Alcaraz, said "they are going to kill us in some way" when discussing the impact of the congested tennis calendar.

Alcaraz suffered a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in April that kept him out for six months, and another superstar, Jannik Sinner, has not played since July because of a persistent knee injury and is targeting a competitive return at the Australian Open in January 2027.

The mental and physical strain being put on the top players is arguably to blame for the injury pile-up, which is why, from 2028, the ATP have announced that no events will be mandatory in a bid to ease the load on players. But what are the WTA also doing about the problem?

Well, ahead of the 2027 season, top-50 players will be required to play in four WTA 500-level events instead of six, while lowering their base tour commitment to 14 tournaments overall.

Players are also permitted to replace one eligible WTA 1000 tournament result with a stronger result earned at a WTA 500 or WTA 250 event. It remains to be seen whether the WTA follows in the same direction as the ATP by making none of the events mandatory.