Alex Eala assured fans that she is fine after briefly twisting her right ankle during her hard-fought win at the Canadian Open.

The Filipino tennis star experienced the ankle injury scare midway through the second set of her match against Caty McNally at the Sobeys Stadium in Toronto on August 8 (Philippine time). Despite the momentary setback, Alex managed to finish the match 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, and defeat the American tennis player.

Speaking to the press after the match, Alex explained what happened and was quick to ease concerns about her condition.

“I kind of rolled my ankle in that second set. There was like — I hit the forehand and I landed kind of wrong. I called the physiologist. I was like, ‘I don’t know what happened’, because it happened so fast.”

Alex took a medical timeout so her right ankle could be wrapped before she returned to the court, recovered her momentum, and eventually closed out the match after two hours and 39 minutes.

“But luckily there’s nothing wrong with it, and it was no serious problem,” she assured.

The ankle injury scare came as Alex continues to deal with the physical demands of a busy tournament stretch. She entered the Canadian Open fresh from her historic title run at the Mubadala DC Open, where she defeated World No. 3 Jessica Pegula to claim her first WTA singles crown and be hailed as the world’s No. 20.

Alex admitted that the consecutive matches have been physically demanding, but she remains confident in her team’s ability to help her recover.

“Today was physically — it pushed me a lot. I have a lot of matches in the bag. But that goes for good and bad. I think this is also a learning process. We’re athletes. So that kind of physical is like a huge part of our job,” she said.

“I think I have a great team who is going to help me recover, and I have high hopes for the rest of the tournament,” she continued.

Despite feeling fatigued, Alex said she remained eager to win over the American tennis player and continue doing her best in her upcoming matches.

“I needed to push a lot. I am as tired as one can be at this stage. You can imagine, a lot of matches. But, you know, that’s the job. I’m ready. I’m excited for another match. I’m going to do my best to recover and, you know, start again from zero.”

Alex is set to face another major test with the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and World No. 14 Belinda Bencic.

It will be the first match for Alex and Belinda, adding another exciting challenge to the Filipina’s impressive run.

“Super excited. It’s going to be the first time that I’m facing her. Of course, Belinda has accomplished so much in tennis. I remember watching her win the Olympic medal, so I think, I’m really excited to be on court again,” Alex maintained.