Eala, Gauff Cruise to Italian Open Doubles Win

ROME — Filipina tennis standout Alex Eala and American world No. 3 Coco Gauff made a commanding debut as doubles partners at the 2025 Italian Open, sweeping Alexandra Panova of Russia and Fanny Stollár of Hungary, 6-3, 6-1, on Saturday.

The first-round match, played at Foro Italico in Rome, lasted just over an hour and saw the newly formed duo dominate from midway through the opening set.

Eala and Gauff broke away from a 2-2 tie by winning three consecutive games, taking control of the first set and never looking back.

“It’s great to play with someone of Coco’s caliber,” Eala said in a brief post-match interview. “We really communicated well and had fun on court.”

The win serves as a strong bounce-back for Eala, who earlier suffered a straight-sets loss to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the Round of 128 in singles competition.

Gauff, the reigning world No. 3 and 2020 U.S. Open champion, continues her singles campaign in Rome and is set to face Poland’s Magda Linette in the Round of 32 on Sunday.

“Alex has great energy, and I think we clicked immediately,” Gauff told reporters. “It was our first time playing together, but it felt natural.”

The pair will next face the winner of the match between Italy’s Tyra Grant and Lisa Pigato, and the team of Irina Khromacheva (Russia) and Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) in the Round of 16.

Eala, ranked No. 70 in the world, has been steadily climbing the WTA ladder and is among the highest-ranked Southeast Asian players in the tour.

She earned a career-high singles ranking earlier this year and continues to build international momentum, with prize money earnings exceeding PHP 43 million (approx. USD 750,000) to date, according to WTA statistics.

Gauff, one of the sport’s most recognizable young stars, has already secured multiple WTA titles and continues to be a fixture in both singles and doubles competition.

The Italian Open, a key clay-court event leading up to Roland Garros, offers valuable ranking points and match experience ahead of the season’s second Grand Slam.