Alexandra Eala will be hoping to bounce back at the Dubai Tennis Championships, after suffering a first round defeat to Tereza Valentova at the Qatar Open.
Eala’s incredible WTA Tour popularity is yet to truly match up to her performances, although the Filipina star has impressed at the ASB Classic and the Abu Dhabi Open.
The 20-year-old’s first round exit in Qatar was the same result as her maiden loss in the Australian Open main draw, but Eala has a big opportunity to turn her fortunes around in Dubai.
The star has been gifted a kind first round match and she could be set to go even further at the WTA 1000 event.
Alexandra Eala provided with winnable Dubai draw
Eala entered the tournament automatically thanks to Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal and her draw has been kind, especially as she is not seeded.
The Filipina will play a qualifier or lucky loser in the first round, and a win will set up a match with Jasmine Paolini.
The Italian is yet to truly set the world alight in 2026, having lost in the third round of the Australian Open and the first round of the Qatar Open.
Paolini provides a winnable match for Eala and she will not play another star in the top 10 until the quarter-finals at the earliest.
The 20-year-old is in the same section as Emma Navarro, Linda Noskova, and Elise Mertens, which is a stark contrast to Emma Raducanu’s incredibly difficult Dubai draw.
Eala could play Coco Gauff in the quarter-final, her friend and former doubles partner, who herself is in a run of poor form.
The rising star might not ever have a better chance of progressing through a WTA 1000 event until she earns seeded entry.
Why Alexandra Eala needs a deep run in Dubai
Eala has flown up the rankings in the last year, but she could soon hit a wall as she heads into a dangerous period.
The star announced herself to the tennis world by reaching the semi-final of the Miami Open last year, which will now provide her with a huge ranking test.
If Eala does not perform well in Miami this year, she could be set to lose plenty of points as she is defending 390 from her final four appearance in 2025.
Eala has been largely performing as a free hit at many of these tournaments, because these are her maiden appearances.
With an easier ride in Dubai, Eala needs to garner all the points she can get to avoid a ranking drop after Miami.