‘GOODBYE, DUBAI’: Eala ends Dubai tilt in loss to Gauff

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After almost a week of high-intensity tennis, Alex Eala’s run in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has come to an end, succumbing to a laser-focused Coco Gauff, 0-6, 2-6, on Feb. 19, 2026, at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

Gauff, WTA’s World No. 4-ranked female tennis player, almost got everything that she wanted in the quarterfinal clash and pulled off her most dominant win in Dubai across the first three matches.

It was like Eala rammed over an immovable wall. The rundown of the showdown was quite simple: everything that the Filipina threw, Gauff always had an answer.

Unlike her past wins over Hailey Baptiste, Jasmine Paolini, and Sorana Cirstea, Eala failed to penetrate against Gauff’s on-point baseline game. To make things worse, the down-the-line forehand shot, her bread and butter that took her to the quarterfinal stage, shied away when she needed it the most.

In the words of the Premier Sports’ commentators: “Where can Eala find these points? The forehand is nowhere to be found.”

Gauff only needed 25 minutes to repel Eala in the opening set. A disappointing 15-shot unforced error tally summed it all up, including just 27% win rate on her first service possessions.

Total domination. A hot bagel served by Gauff on a cold evening to the thousands of Filipino spectators at home. For the first time in Dubai, Eala failed to score a single game point and got obliterated.

Despite putting more power in her groundstrokes, Eala still couldn’t find her hitting rhythm, resulting in a commanding 4-0 advantage in favor of Gauff.

However, Eala showed some signs of life, holding her first service possession in the fifth game of the set to help her get on the board, 1-4.

The hundreds of Filipino fans present in the venue came alive when Eala broke Gauff to trim her deficit to just two games, 2-4, but back-to-back set wins from the American officially ended her journey in Dubai.

“I know you’re mostly supporting Alex, but I have to say it is great to be on a crowded court,” Gauff said after the win.

“I’ve played this tournament for many years, and to see the stadium full means a lot. I’d like to thank Alex for bringing a new demographic to the sport. I really appreciate it.”

Although Eala failed to march to the semifinals, she still had a convincing run in Dubai after skyrocketing her WTA ranking to World No. 32, a new career-best.

Heads up, Alex! Tuloy ang laban!