NOT in the way she wanted but Alexandra “Alex” Eala got revenge on her best friend Coco Gauff, who was forced to retire due to injury to surrender the Round of 16 title at the 2026 Indian Wells Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Monday.
Mrs. Eala took the first set easily, 6-2, and was leading 2-0 in the second set after a break point when Ms. Gauff called it a day because of lingering pain in her left arm in front of a 16,000-capacity crowd at Stadium 1, the world’s second-largest tennis stadium.
Ms Gauff has previously retired only once in her career against Maris Bouzkova of Czechia at the 2022 Cincinnati Open due to a left ankle injury.
The 20-year-old Pinay thus settled the unfinished business with Ms. Gauff, 21, at Tennis Paradise after being beaten 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month in a head-to-head tie.
“I really didn’t want to win like this but this is still a big moment for me. To be able to play in Stadium 1 of Indian Wells and against such a great competitor,” said the WTA No. 32, a heavy underdog against World No. 4 Americans with many Grand Slams under his belt, in the second largest tennis venue after the US Open Arthur Ahome Stadium only.
“I’m very grateful to be here, and I’m very happy.”
It’s his third career win in 31St Eala is facing top 5 players, as he defeated Iga Swiatek (No. 2) of Poland and Madison Keys (former No. 5) of the USA at the Miami Open last year. Against Top 10 players, it’s fourth behind then-champion Jasmine Paolini in Dubai.
However, what was seen as a tightrope clash this time, it appeared to be a trip as Ms. A revengeful Eala, in good form after a 7-4, 4-6, 7-5 Round 2 challenge from No. 52 Dayana Yastremska from Ukraine, made it rain for Ms. Gauff trailed 1-2 in the first game after the loss.
A stunning 5-0 run marked by three break points gave Ms. Eala is the opener, far from bailing out the first set against the three-time Slam champion in Dubai, where he has won a total of just two games.
It was Ms. Eala from there, thus setting up a duel against world number 14 Linda Noskova of Czechia for a ticket to the quarterfinals of the prestigious 1000 level tour. Ms. Noskova came back strong to defeat No. 38 Sorana Cirstea of Romania, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 to advance.
The winner gets a shot against the No. 7 of the world Ms. Paolini or Talia Gibson of Australia (No. 112) in the Last 8. It will be difficult from there as either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus or No. 16 Naomi Osaka of Japan, and 10 Victoria Mboko of Canada or No.
And Mrs. Eala did it during the celebration of International Women’s Day, praising Mrs. Gauff, her mother and all the women who have broken the barrier of female excellence in world sports have ever been entered.
“First of all, I want to say Happy Women’s Day to everyone. I would like to thank all the beautiful women who have paved the way for other women, who speak up for themselves and other women,” said Mrs. Eala, full of joy with another home turf advantage despite the controversy with the American star.
“Among them is Coco. So, thank you, Coco, for being an amazing competitor and a great role model. And I really hope that everything is going well and that you will recover soon.”
Mrs. Eala also paid tribute to his mother Rizza, who was by his side from Day 1 in every country then as a young and unknown professional before his meteoric rise as one of the faces of international tennis.
“I also want to say Happy Women’s Day to my mom in the stands. I want to thank her for being an amazing woman and for helping me become the woman I am,” she smiled.
The entry of Ms. A loss in the Round of 16 pushed her to No. 28 in the WTA live rankings with a further 110 points, as she looks to jump to the top with a win against Ms Noskova.
And like every game she played in regardless of the city thousands of kilometers away from the Philippines this season, Ms. Eala will have a big crowd to lean on in California which boasts the state’s largest Filipino population of nearly two million.
It’s up there for the taking. – John Bryan Ulanday
