Alex Eala advances to the last eight of the Dubai Tennis Championship
ONE is a top contender, the other is a sweeper.
The consistent Alexandra “Alex” Eala advanced to the last eight of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, winning 7-5, 6-4 over world No. 32 Sorana Cirstea of Romania in front of another packed crowd on Thursday at the Aviation Club Tennis Center Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
On the heels of a major victory over world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, WTA No.
The 20-year-old Filipina Ms. Eala, who also defeated number 39 Hailey Baptiste in Round 1 (6-4, 0-1) after retiring due to stomach pain, faces her best friend, former doubles partner and No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States next at press time in fourth place.
A gap of 15 years, 46 days between Mss. Eala and Cirstea have been the top two contenders from the Round of 16 onwards in Dubai since its inception in 2001, becoming the first Filipina quarterfinalist in the event’s history. It’s her second of the last 8 appearances on the 1000-ranked tour, alongside the four majors she’s already played in as the first Filipina.
In addition, Mrs. Eala – who became the youngest Asian woman to achieve more Top-10 wins than Naomi Osaka – became only the third Asian player to reach multiple WTA 1000 quarterfinals before turning 21, joining Ms Osaka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
“It’s very special. Every round is a tough fight so I’m very happy with the way I performed,” said Ms. Eala, who snapped Ms Cirstea’s seven-match streak since holding the Cluj-Napoca Open at home to world number 25 Emma Raducanu of Great Britain.
“I think the key today was to stay calm and trust my shots. I think I was very strong in the moments when I needed to be. So, that showed in my performance and in the scores.”
Winning Ms. Eala has now moved up to number 32 in the WTA live rankings with an extra 205 points although that will change when the official review takes place next week.
Looking for revenge after her first-round exit this season at the WTA 1000 Qatar Open, Ms. Eala did it behind another roaring Filipino support, showing his status as one of the hottest tickets in the world today at only 20 years old and packed stadiums in succession regardless of the country.
“The waves of support just made each game more special. And it’s very difficult to describe the feeling and the real experience of playing in front of this crowd. So I’m very grateful to be here,” Ms. Eala, who had to face Ms. Cirstea’s storm in the second stage.
Mrs. Eala went as close as 4-0 in the tie but allowed Miss Cirstea’s tough 4-1 response to hit within 4-5 to claim the decider. But Mrs. Eala was calm, cool and collected, participating in 10th where she finished a love game held with a forehand winner that kissed the base where Miss Cirstea reached.
It’s the same winner for Ms. Eala facing the 2024 Dubai champion and Ms. Paolini, who came out of the seed this year, beat him with a 6-1, 7-6(7-5) win for his third career win against Top 10 players.
And now, a common enemy stands in his way as he shoots for a fourth Top-10.
“You know, Coco (Gauff) is an amazing person, and we often forget that she is a year older than me. But she is a good role model for many, so I really enjoyed that match,” said Ms. Eala, who joined two-time Grand Slam champion Ms. Gauff in the quarterfinals at the 2025 Italian Open.
Winning Ms. Eala would repeat her best WTA 1000 exit to date at the 2025 Miami Open, where she reached the semifinals from the qualifiers and broke the gates wide open for her Top 100 and later Top-50 entry.
But that wouldn’t be a walk in the park against Ms. The 21-year-old Gauff, who is looking forward to hearing the ever-supportive Filipino crowd again.
“I know that you probably came for Alex, so I’m sorry to wait for you,” smiled child number 3 Ms. Gauff, who pulled out a 2-6, 7-6(11-9), 6-3 win against world doubles No. 1 and 22-seed Elise Mertens of Belgium in the Round of 16, I don’t think so. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy the next game.” – John Bryan Ulanday
