Alex Eala closes in on milestone despite losing to Coco Gauff at Dubai

Alexandra Eala had her run at the 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships stopped by Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

After narrow wins in her first two matches, Gauff looked much more assured against Eala, controlling the match from start to finish and winning 6-0, 6-2.

The American star will now face Elina Svitolina for a place in the final.

Even though she struggled to get going against Gauff, it had still been an impressive week for the Filipina. Before Thursday’s quarter-final loss, she beat Hailey Baptiste and Sorana Cirstea either side of a stunning win over sixth seed Jasmine Paolini.

Alexandra Eala set to break into the world top 35

According to the WTA live rankings, Eala is expected to climb 15 spots, moving up to world number 32 after collecting 205 ranking points in Dubai.

This move puts the 20-year-old inside the Grand Slam seeding cutoff for the first time in her career.

The 20-year-old will become the first Filipino player ever to reach this level, further cementing her place as one of the most recognisable athletes in Filipino sport.

With this rise, she is expected to leapfrog two former Grand Slam champions: Sofia Kenin and Marketa Vondrousova, who won the Australian Open in 2020 and Wimbledon in 2023 respectively.

Eala is also set to surpass Sorana Cirstea, Sara Beljek and Elisabetta Cocciaretto, all of whom have lifted WTA trophies in 2026.

If she can hold onto her spot over the next few months, there is a good chance she could be seeded at Roland-Garros when May comes around.

Coco Gauff joins Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova in early career milestone

According to OptaAce, since the Tier1/WTA-1000 format was introduced in 1990, only Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova have reached more semi-finals at this level before turning 22 than Gauff.

Sharapova appeared in 15 WTA 1000 semi-finals before her 22nd birthday, while Gauff has now reached 13.

Hingis, who won 12 Grand Slam titles before she turned 19, made an incredible 33 WTA-1000 semi-finals by the time she was 22.

Gauff is set to face Elina Svitolina next. If she wins that match, she will meet either Jessica Pegula or Amanda Anisimova in the final.

Pegula advanced by beating Clara Tauson on Thursday, while Anisimova got past Mirra Andreeva to book her spot in the last four.

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