Alex Eala upgraded to Dubai Championships main draw

Alexandra “Alex” Eala will play in the main draw of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free International Tennis Championships, which begins Feb. 15.

The tournament’s official website confirmed Eala’s inclusion in the main draw Wednesday after she had previously been listed as a qualifier.

Organizers announced Thursday that Eala’s slot was upgraded from the qualifying draw to the main tournament after the Filipina moved into the Top 40 of the Women’s Tennis Association world rankings.

Eala, the world No. 40, joins a field headlined by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 3 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who the release said won the Australian Open last month.

The main draw features 18 of the world’s top 20 players, including No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 5 Coco Gauff and No. 6 Jessica Pegula of the United States, No. 7 and reigning champion Mirra Andreeva of Russia, No. 8 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, No. 9 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and No. 10 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.

The Dubai lineup also includes players Eala has faced before, including Pegula, Alexandrova, Victoria Mboko, Clara Tauson and Maya Joint, as well as other top names listed in the release such as Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Anisimova and Andreeva.

Dubai will serve as the final stop of Eala’s Middle East swing before she heads to the United States in March, where she is included in the player list for the Indian Wells Open.

Eala is coming off her second event in the United Arab Emirates, following a solid run in the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open where she reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals last week.

Dubai will also be her second WTA 1000 event of the season after an early exit in the Qatar Open, where she absorbed a 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 loss to Czechia’s Tereza Valentova, the WTA No. 48.

The release said Eala expects strong crowd support again from overseas Filipinos, similar to what she experienced in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

“From Doha to Dubai,” said Eala upon landing in the Middle Eastern city Thursday, giving her multiple days to prepare before the main draw on Monday.

Qualifying matches begin Friday, with the official draw for the main event expected to be announced right after, according to the release.

The Dubai tournament will be Eala’s seventh straight event, following the ASB Classic in Auckland, the Australian Open main draw and the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, along with the Philippine Women’s Open, described as her first-ever professional home tournament.

Eala opened her 2026 campaign by reaching the semifinals of the ASB Classic in New Zealand before winning the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament as champion, the release said.

Now ranked No. 40 with 1,244 points, Eala is aiming for a deep run in Dubai to push toward the Top 30–35 before flying to the United States for the next stop of the WTA Tour.

Eala is slated to play the Indian Wells Open, also known as the BNP Paribas Open, in California from March 4–15 before returning to the Miami Open from March 17–29.

The release described the Miami Open as Eala’s gateway to the Top 100 and later the Top 50 after a run from the qualifiers to the semifinals, highlighted by wins over Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys.

Eala is hoping to replicate that breakthrough in Dubai, despite a deeper cast led by Sabalenka and company, according to the release.