Alex Eala is not on initial Indian Wells doubles players list

Alex Eala has become a household name in tennis since her inspiring 2025 Miami Open run which included defeating three Grand Slam champions: Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek.

The 20-year-old Filpina superstar and graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy has stormed into the WTA Top 50 and has quickly packed stadiums around the world with enthusiastic fans from the Phillipines.

In addition to her singles prowess, she is an accomplished doubles player, earning two Grand Slam juniors titles in 2020 and 2021 at the Australian and French Open respectively.

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That’s why it is somewhat surprising that she is not on the Indian Wells doubles entry list. Perhaps she is focusing on singles, but there are many Filipino fans who were hoping to see her play both singles and doubles.

Alex Eala has played doubles with WTA superstars

Eala lost to Coco Gauff in the Dubai quarterfinals; however, the two played doubles at last year’s Italian Open. They lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.

Alex Eala has also played doubles with rising stars Janice Tjen, Canadian Open champion Victoria Mboko, and Guadalajara champion Iva Jovic.

MORE: Jessica Pegula calls out WTA for photoshopping her picture

What to expect from Eala’s main draw Indian Wells debut

Alex Eala should be brimming with confidence after a successful Dubai run where she defeated World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.

The lingering question will be if Nike does anything special for her to commemorate her Indian Wells debut. Nike sent her a custom white hair tie containing a sampaguita, the national flower of the Philippines, for her Wimbledon debut. Tshirts containing the Nike logo and the sampaguita are routinely sold out in the Philippines. Eala modeled one of the shirts in a recent Vogue Phillippines photo shoot.

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