Alex Eala faces a tough test ahead of her second French Open campaign after crashing out early in the Strasbourg Open in France on Monday, May 18.

Eala, who entered the main draw after originally being slated for the qualifiers, couldn’t sustain a fiery start and bowed to lower-ranked Oleksandra Oliynykova, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the opening round of the WTA 500 event serving as her final tournament before the clay court Grand Slam.

In that two hour, 52-minute match, the world No. 38 Eala struggled on her serve, getting broken seven times while fending off a staggering 23 break points against her 61st-ranked Ukrainian rival.

So far, she is averaging 64.7 percent on service games won, but she still needs to sharpen and be more consistent against the elite competition awaiting her on the Grand Slam stage.

Eala’s serve has become a talking point among tennis analysts and former players during her rise on the Tour, including former player and French Open semifinalist Andrea Petkovic, who discussed it in a podcast a month ago.

“I think it’s one thing and unfortunately it’s a big thing: the serve. In the year and a half that I have watched her now, her serve is very inconsistent. She has those weeks where she can’t make first serves and the second is very attackable,” Petkovic said.

“Against the big hitters like (Aryna) Sabalenka, (Elena) Rybakina and even Coco Gauff, who returns so well, it is going to be really difficult to defend your serve, despite her being one of the best returners in the game,” she added.

So far, Eala has yet to find her rhythm on clay, with third-round finishes standing as her best results across all her tournaments on the surface this season.

Qualifying matches are already ongoing at the French Open, but Eala is slated to play in the main draw.

Last year, the Filipina ace debuted in the main draw but lost to Emiliana Arango in three sets in the first round.