Alex Eala, Coco Gauff Exit Italian Open Doubles in Quarters

Filipina tennis star Alexandra Eala and American Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open women’s doubles on Wednesday, falling to defending champions Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 7-5, 3-6, 10-7.

The match took place at the Grand Stand Arena in Foro Italico, Rome, where Eala and Gauff initially surged ahead with a 5-3 lead in the opening set, only to see the Italian pair rally to claim the set.

Eala and Gauff bounced back in the second set, winning 6-3 to force a match tiebreak, but Errani and Paolini sealed the win with greater composure in the decisive frame.

“It was a tough match. We fought hard but came up just short,” Eala said in a post-match interview. “Still, it’s an honor to play at this level, especially with Coco.”

The Eala-Gauff tandem opened their Rome campaign with convincing victories: a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alexandra Panovaand Fanny Stollar, followed by a 6-2, 6-3 domination of Tyra Caterina Grant and Lisa Pigato in the Round of 16.

For Eala, the doubles run marked her deepest advancement in a WTA 1000 event, though her singles bid ended early with a first-round exit against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff, ranked No. 4 in the world, continues her singles run and booked a spot in the semifinals after defeating Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, 6-4, 7-6(5).

Gauff, 21, improved her head-to-head to 4-0 against the 18-year-old Andreeva and became the youngest player since Martina Hingis (1999) to reach the Rome semifinals three times.

“Especially when you’re playing someone younger, you know that they can improve so much in a little bit of time,” Gauff said. “I treat each match like a new one and expect her to be better than the last time we played.”

In the next round, Gauff will face China’s Qinwen Zheng, who upset World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 6-4, 6-3, to reach her first Italian Open semifinal.

Zheng, the reigning Paris Olympics gold medalist, served four aces and saved all five break points to secure her first win over Sabalenka in seven meetings.

Tensions briefly flared during the match as Sabalenka was issued a warning after yelling at a spectator mid-set.

Zheng credited her form to full recovery from early-season arm struggles, telling Sky Sports, “Right now I’m just perfectly in shape and trying to play better tennis all the time.”

While Eala’s Italian Open campaign has come to a close, her progress in the WTA circuit continues to draw attention. The 18-year-old, a former US Open junior champion, is rising steadily in the global rankings and remains one of Southeast Asia’s most promising tennis talents.