Eala wraps up Abu Dhabi Open singles’ campaign with a quarterfinal finish

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala’s Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open women’s singles journey came to an end following a quarterfinal loss to world No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, 3-6, 3-6, on Feb. 5, 2026, at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City.

Fresh off a near three-hour marathon win against Belarusian foe Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Eala ran out of gas and failed to sustain momentum against Alexandrova, who was ranked No. 2 in the tournament.

It was one of those “so close, yet so far” type of games for the 20-year-old Filipina ace, as Eala had several chances to take the lead. However, a fumbled offensive possession through a series of unforced errors derailed her opening and prevented her from seizing control and dictating the tempo.

Alexandrova immediately took advantage of Eala’s missed chances as she scored a much-needed break point midway through the first set to establish footing, en route to a comfortable 5-3 lead and moving a set away from claiming a 1-0 lead.

Eala tried hard to snatch a set after scoring several groundstroke forehand winners, but Alexandrova’s tricky backhand returns remained a puzzle for the younger Filipina.

In the second set, Eala seemed to address Alexandrova’s deceptive backhand by wrapping around to her forehand side, but the more experienced star from Russia countered with wide-angled baseline hits that made it hard for the Filipina to adjust to changing grips.

Eala battled and managed to equalize the second set at 3-all, but Alexandrova proved to be too much after taking the last three games to complete the sweep.

During the swift quarterfinal showdown, Eala recorded 59 total points won, her lowest tally since the Round of 32 stage.

Despite the loss, Eala found a silver lining in doubles as she and her partner, Janice Tjen, won their quarterfinal encounter against Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucsa, 6-3, 6-3.