ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA earned a shot at world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, taking a 6-4, 0-1 win via retirement after the injury of American foe Hailey Baptiste in Round 1 of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships early on Monday morning.
Ms. Eala, who slid down to No. 47 in this week’s Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, ran away with the Round of 64 win as Ms. Baptiste did not push through to the rest of the match due to an abdomen pain early in the second set.
The 20-year-old Filipina sensation broke free from a 3-all score in the first set behind a 4-1 finishing kick that set the tone in her triumph.
Ms. Baptiste broke serve in the second for what was seen as a retaliation in a bid to force a decider only to pull out as Ms. Eala took the win in 57 minutes.
Albeit in no way Ms. Eala wanted, it became a repeat win for her after a 6(1)-7, 7-6(4), 6-1 comeback win against then top-ranked Ms. Baptiste in the qualifiers of the Eastbourne Open, where she earned her first WTA Finals appearance only to bow to Australia’s Maya Joint, 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (10-12), in the epic marathon finale.
Ms. Baptiste, 24, once again was the No. 1 seed in the Dubai qualifiers and scored a 6-4, 6-4 win against Chinese Shuai Zhang (WTA No. 86) to get a shot at Ms. Eala in the main draw but to no avail.
“Obviously, no one likes advancing this way, being on tour I’m starting to discover really at this level how different it is to maintain your health physically. I really hope Hailey is okay and will bounce back soon,” said Ms. Eala.
Up next for Ms. Eala in the Round of 32 is the multititled Ms. Paolini, who gained a bye in the first round as the No. 6 seed in the 1000-level tourney next only to the four majors.
The 30-year-old Ms. Paolini, a gold medalist in the 2024 Paris Olympics with compatriot Sara Errani, boasts a bevy of milestones compared to the youthful Filipina pride to make herself the heavy favorite in the duel for a seat in the final four. Aside from reaching a career-best of No. 3 in both the singles and doubles, Ms. Paolini was a two-time Grand Slam singles finalist laced by a doubles championship in the 2025 French Open.
That should be enough warning on how steep of a mountain Ms. Eala has to climb to book a Round of 16 ticket against either WTA No. 14 Linda Noskova of Czechia or the winner between Romania’s Sorana Cirstea (No. 32) and Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich (No. 113).
Ms. Eala, who’s assured of $26,000 and 65 points, is out to garner more ranking points to hold fort inside the Top 50 after a seven-spot slide this week.
The lefty ace went free fall after a first-round exit in the WTA 1000 Qatar Open last week.
Before that, Ms. Eala made the semifinals in the WTA 250 ASB Classic in New Zealand on top of a pair of quarterfinals finishes in the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open for her first home tourney and the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open, where she also reached the doubles final four with Indonesian partner Janice Tjen.
She also completed an appearance in all four major main draws after a debut in the Australian Open last month in Melbourne, where she netted an exhibition crown in the Kooyong Classic as well. — John Bryan Ulanday