MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 5 July 2026) – Is a slow serve in tennis always a disadvantage? The prevailing notion is it is easier to return a slow serve. However, the outcome of the game between Alexandra Eala and Iga Swiatek on Saturday night (Philippine time) at the Wimbledon Open may make players as well as analysts of the game rethink their position.

In a post-game interview, Swiatek attributed her loss to Eala to the latter’s slow serves. For a player used to receiving strong serves, the Polish defending champion was clearly caught unprepared for the Filipina’s technique, disrupting her rhythm.

“I know it was slow. I know exactly how it’s going to come to me. It’s such a different rhythm than what I usually have a chance to return. I felt like she was serving slower and slower, and it became tougher and tougher for me to return these serves. That, for me, was hard to accept,” Swiatek lamented in a post-game interview.

Eala’s first serve averages 92-98 mph, slower than the WTA’s average of 100-105 mph. Her second serve, 65-75 mph, is also slower than the Tour’s average of 85-90 mph.

Eala admitted she is not a strong server compared to many other players competing in Wimbledon. “So I do my best to use my serve as an advantage,” she added.

During their center court game witnessed by tennis legends and celebrities (including Princess of Wales Catherine), the Filipina sensation did just that – turning her weakness into a strength to carve a victory in two straight sets, 7-6(9), 6-2.

In that game where her performance drew raves from tennis legends, Eala’s first serve averaged just 86.3 mph and her second serve just 75.8 mph. Swiatek registered 102.5 mph on her first serve and 89.4 mph on her second serve.

(Body and Sole is the sports and fitness column of H. Marcos C. Mordeno. He can be reached at boymords@mindanews.com.)