By Tracy Cabrera
MANILA — Filipino tennis standout Alexandra “Alex” Eala is set to expand her campaign in the 2026 Italian Open by joining the women’s doubles draw alongside her singles stint against the world’s elite.
Eala confirmed her participation in the doubles event after her hard-fought win over Poland’s Magdalena Fręch, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, at the iconic Pietrangeli Court inside the Foro Italico.
“Yeah. I actually signed up,” she said with a laugh during a media interview after the match.
The rising Filipina star will team up with American player Hailey Baptiste, who owns a 74–61 career doubles record and is currently ranked World No. 129 in the WTA standings as of April 20, 2026.
Turning 21 this May 23, Eala has already been active in five doubles tournaments this season. She and American teenager Iva Jovic reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic in January before falling to China’s Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.
She later partnered with Brazil’s Ingrid Gamarra Martins at the Australian Open but exited in the first round after a three-set defeat to Magda Linette of Poland and Shuko Aoyama of Japan, 6-7(3), 6-2, 3-6.
In February, she joined Indonesia’s Janice Tjen but their run ended in the semifinals against Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls.
Her doubles campaign continued in March at Indian Wells with Jovic, though they suffered a first-round loss to Baptiste and Jelena Ostapenko. More recently in Madrid, she paired with Zeynep Sönmez and reached the second round.
ia/xf
