WHAT TYPE OF PLAYER IS SHE, AND HOW MUCH CAN SHE IMPROVE?
When I talk about a player, I usually avoid telling the sequence of tournaments played year-by-year, and I apologize if it was boring. This time, however, it was necessary in order to underline Alexandrova’s growth, which could be defined as steady and characterised by some recurring elements. First, she prefers playing indoor events. Secondly, as mentioned, her growth process is very gradual.
I must confess that I find it hard to define Alexandrova as a tennis player with a Russian background. In some respects, it’s natural to see in her some aspects of the Czech school. First of all, she hits rather flat and she prefers fast courts, having a style based on good acceleration and accuracy. Finally, her forehand grip is quite traditional, unlike most of her peers. We could find the above mentioned characteristics in top players like Kvitova and Pliskova, but also like Berdych (among the men).
Ekaterina has a good serve. Because of her solid first serve, she was in the Top 20 for the number of aces per match in 2020 (19th, to be precise). The second serve statistics reveals some issues, perhaps because her slower stroke (especially the kick) is not on the same level as the faster one. As a confirmation of this, she is ranked only 80th in second serving stats in 2020 at 43.2% (Brady led the pack at 53.2%).
Talking about her forehand and backhand, I find the backhand a little more solid. It’s an elegant shot, and, on her best days, seeing her impact the ball from the left side with her double-handed swing can be very gratifying from an aesthetic standpoint. In my opinion, her forehand is less steady, although very incisive when it works well. However, when under pressure she tends to tense up, losing pace and becoming an easy target for the strongest opponents, since it’s a shot already devoid of spin.
According to her WTA profile, Alexandrova is 5’9’’, an average height on the WTA tour. The combination between her physical characteristics and the rather offensive way of playing shown so far represent the mix that allowed her to enter the Top 30 in the world, with a career high of N. 25 in February 2020. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t think she has much more of an upside, unless she makes some improvements on technical and tactical aspects. Let’s make some assumptions.
You need to have a truly dominant offensive game in order to play and win with her playing style. Alexandrova, however, doesn’t possess the easy pace of Kvitova or Pliskova do it. In fact, Petra and Karolina have been in the Top 10 for several years even without being defensive prodigies. However, I doubt that Ekaterina can become a “hitter” of that level, because her physique doesn’t allow her to hit with great power as easily.
This is why I think that, in order to reach a higher standing, she should take into consideration different playing strategies. One possible choice is to limit the number of unforced errors. This is an oft-overlooked attitude (it is the only one identified by a negative sentence, e.g. “don’t make a mistake”) and it is particularly difficult to predict improvements in this department for anyone. Even so, she could probably grow in other areas. One could be her net transitioning: in this way, she would have more options. A way to train this feature is playing more doubles matches. Up to now, however, according to the ITF, she has played 517 singles and only 49 doubles matches.
Another option is to improve when the opponent has the control of the rally. In recent interviews, Alexandrova has stated that hardcourts are her favourite surface because she likes to dictate the rally. In my opinion, an athlete with her physical characteristic would have the opportunity to do more defensively. Tennis players with similar height and build are usually able to cover the court more effectively.
The last aspect is her character. From the first times I saw her on the court, I’ve often had the feeling of a very self-critical player who tends to easily lose morale. If things don’t go her way, her body language tends to be negative. Her physical posture slumps immediately, and that doesn’t help her to get out of a rut, and at the same time tends to encourage the opponent.
It is not easy to completely understand her character, in particular because she is a very reserved tennis player, both on and off the court. She certainly doesn’t seek fame at any cost. Until a year ago, she had no accounts on Twitter, Facebook or similar. Nothing at all. She recently signed up for her own account on Instagram, but only because “forced” by her sister (“You must have at least one social channel”), but Ekaterina admits that she often forgets to post new photos because showing her life on the Internet is out character for her.
Personally, I appreciate her for being so low-key, but impudence and self-esteem could help her on the court – in this way, she could avoid being overwhelmed by difficulties. At 26, it is very difficult to change one’s mind-set, I know, but if she worked on her killer instinct, she would probably win more matches. Maybe some extra confidence would have been enough to defeat Elina Svitolina at Abu Dhabi, and today she may have one more title on her resumé.
Article translated by Giuseppe Di Paola; edited by Tommaso Villa
