Alexandra Eala secured a significant victory over world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini at the Dubai Tennis Championships, winning 6-1, 7-6(5) to advance to the third round. The 20-year-old Filipino player earned her third career Top 10 win amid strong support from the crowd. This marks her first time reaching the Round of 16 in Dubai.
On Tuesday night at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, Alexandra Eala defeated Jasmine Paolini in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(5), during the second round of the WTA 1000 event. The match lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes, with Eala converting her fifth match point in a tense second-set tiebreak to seal the upset.
Eala, who entered the tournament ranked 47th, dominated the first set, landing 67% of her first serves and winning 86% of those points without facing a break point. In the second set, she broke for a 2-1 lead, but Paolini leveled at 3-3 and later saved three match points at 5-4 before breaking back to force a tiebreak. Eala then fended off two set points to hold and prevailed in the breaker, where the first eight points ended with winners.
The victory drew a vocal Filipino crowd, creating what was described as a 'Filipino frenzy' with chants of 'Ale, Ale, Ale.' Eala addressed them in Filipino post-match, becoming the first Filipino player to reach the Round of 16 at the Dubai Tennis Championships since its start in 2001 and at multiple WTA 1000 events since 1990.
In her on-court interview, Eala said: 'All the emotions are coming because the tension was so high, especially during that second set. So I’m really happy to have gotten through. (Paolini) is a great opponent, obviously, being Top 10 and a former champion here, so to be able to compete with her at this level is a great achievement for me.' She added in the press conference: 'I tried to remind myself that I was doing well... Every time the opportunity arose, I tried my best to be brave and go for my ball.'
This win boosts Eala to a projected career-high ranking of 38th, up nine places with 1,337 points. At 20 years and 168 days, she is the youngest Asian player to record Top 10 wins at multiple WTA 1000 events, surpassing Naomi Osaka's record. Her previous Top 10 victories came against Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Miami Open.
Eala advanced to the third round after Hailey Baptiste retired at 6-4, 0-1 in the first round. She faces world No. 32 Sorana Cirstea next, who upset 10th seed Linda Noskova 6-1, 6-4. A win would elevate Eala to around 32nd in the rankings with 1,432 points.
