Alex Eala may have made a decision which has backfired as she loses early in Wuhan

Alexandra Eala has just suffered perhaps one of her most disappointing defeats of the season, having surrendered a one-set lead to Chinese qualifier Han Chi to somehow lose the match.

She was not playing well even when winning, but the manner of her collapse was painful to watch.

It all felt so inevitable, like we had seen it all before.

Interestingly, in her last three losses now, coming in Singapore, the Asian Games and now the Wuhan Open, the 21-year-old has thrown away a one-set advantage.

It’s hard to pin down exactly what is going wrong for Alexandra Eala right now, but one theory feels like the most credible.

Alexandra Eala’s busy WTA season comes back to bite her

Losing to a player ranked 217th in the world marks a season-low for Eala.

It should come as no surprise that this slump has come at the back end of the campaign as well, given the sheer number of tournaments she has played throughout 2026.

At one stage, she stood alone at the top for most matches played on the entire WTA Tour.

Eala’s desperation to maximise her grass-court campaign, and the hard-court summer that followed, resulted in a career-high ranking, a first WTA Tour-level title, and two historic runs at Wimbledon and the US Open.

However, this is the first time she has then had to carry that form on into arguably the most gruelling stretch of the season.

Perhaps, if she truly wanted to shine in her home continent, the Filipina star might have considered a more intelligent schedule, and one that perhaps omitted the Asian Games.

After all, there she failed to win gold, missed a great opportunity for more ranking points at a WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, and has now lost early here in Wuhan.

What’s even more frustrating is the fact that the draw had really opened up for Eala with Linda Noskova’s withdrawal, and she has failed even to threaten to capitalise.

It has been a long and gruelling season for this young phenomenon, and her mental and physical reserves must be running low. For that, she can be forgiven.

Hopefully, if Eala has learnt anything from this magical, historic year, it’s that if she wants to enjoy success around this time next season, she might benefit from a smaller schedule that prioritises certain events and omits others for crucial rest.