Eala extends mastery over Turkey’s Sonmez in Abu Dhabi Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala continued to have Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez’s number after sweeping her in the opening round of the ongoing WTA 500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, 6-4, 6-3, on Feb. 3, 2026, at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City.

The 20-year-old Filipina ace replicated her win over Sonmez at the Lexus Eastbourne Open last year, where she also handed the Turkish bet a 2-0 loss during the qualifying round, 6-1, 6-3.

After a shaky start in the opening set, Eala finally found an opening after scoring a much-needed break point that ended the lengthy deadlock.

Eala banked on her precise forehand groundstrokes, placing deep balls to Sonmez’s baseline area and neutralizing the latter’s ability to approach the net and secure free points from smashes.

With only a set needed to seize a momentum-boosting 1-0 lead, Eala took a huge risk by playing back-to-back aggressive points at the net while holding a 30-15 lead.

That bold move eventually paid dividends as Eala scored a slice drop shot to move to 40-15 before securing the set with a powerful forehand volley that forced a Sonmez error.

Momentum swung firmly in Eala’s favor at the start of the second set as she zoomed to a comfortable 3-0 lead after breaking early and protecting back-to-back service games to dictate the pace of the Round of 32 match.

Just when Eala appeared to have a firm grip on the match, Sonmez showed she still had enough left in the tank after breaking back to pull within a game, 3-2.

During the crucial sixth game, Eala showed nerves of steel by breaking a 30-all deadlock with two consecutive jaw-dropping points to stretch the lead to 4-2.

Eager to avoid late-game drama similar to her previous matches in the Philippine Women’s Open and the Australian Open, Eala shut the door on Sonmez with a game-sealing 2-1 run to clinch a spot in the Round of 16.

Eala wrapped up the Round of 32 win with 71 points won, including 35 on return, along with two service aces and six break points converted.

“Before I address the amazing crowd, I just want to say, I’m so honored to share the court with one of my closest friends, Zeynep,” Eala said during her postgame interview.

“Some similarities in our game definitely, and that showed in the rallies. Just being very focused on every point was the key to winning this match.”

With the win, Eala arranged a Round of 16 clash against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, who earlier pulled off a major upset by defeating eighth-seeded Paula Badosa.