Alexandra Eala is still dreaming big as she continued her perfect BNP Paribas Open debut on Sunday evening, moving into the fourth round after Coco Gauff was forced to retire.
Eala was on her way to winning the first set when her opponent, Gauff, took a medical timeout late in the set for a left arm injury. After going down a break in the second, Gauff chose not to continue, trailing 6-2, 2-0.
The result is a reversal of their last match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Back then, Eala was overwhelmed and overpowered by the world No. 4 in a lopsided 6-0, 6-2 quarterfinal defeat. It also marks Eala’s first Top 5 win since the 2025 Miami Open (No. 2 Iga Swiatek).
“I was definitely a little nervous. It was a big stadium, and, of course, a big opponent,” Eala told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj after the match. “And, yeah, I was really motivated, super excited to play the match. Those back and forths were really intense for me, and I’m happy that I was able to get some of them.”
“I think (I made) less errors,” she explained. “I missed a lot more than I would have liked in Dubai. That’s also partly because she played so well and forced me to miss, so I think that’s one of the things I did a little better today.”
In Dubai, Gauff gave a shoutout to Eala’s passionate fanbase, saying the atmosphere made it feel like a home match for Eala and praising the 20-year-old for bringing a new fanbase to the sport. They were out in full force cheering on Eala as she battled on Stadium 1 on Sunday.
Eala said she’s gained “so much motivation” from the masses of vocal fans with Philippines flags that regularly appear in the stands, though her rise up the rankings happened so fast that part of her is still just happy to have fans in the stands, period.
“I think it’s it’s such a pleasure to be able to play on courts where people are waiting for you, where there’s an amazing, electric atmosphere… I never used to have that, you know, because I was in the ITF circuit,” she recalled. “So to be able to play on amazing courts, amazing people and with these crowds, is such a great experience.”
Eala is approaching one year since she burst onto the scene at the Miami Open. As a wild card ranked No. 140 in the world, Eala took down No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, and world No. 2 Swiatek on her way to her first WTA 1000 semifinal.