{"id":463888,"date":"2026-02-07T06:45:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T06:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/463888\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T06:45:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T06:45:27","slug":"alex-eala-suffers-singles-disappointment-at-abu-dhabi-open-but-marches-on-in-doubles-with-janice-tjen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/463888\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Eala suffers singles disappointment at Abu Dhabi Open but marches on in doubles with Janice Tjen"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a magical run while it lasted in the singles draw, but Alex Eala<\/a> can still continue to bring plenty of delight to Filipino fans in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open — alongside fellow Southeast Asian sensation Janice Tjen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just an hour after her solo campaign came to an end with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova<\/a>, Eala switched gears to team up with Indonesian rising star Tjen — with the duo proceedings to deliver a statement performance in the doubles quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

The pair, who have been dubbed — and have happily accepted — their ‘SEAsters’ moniker in reference to the shared region of origin, dominated second seeds Zhang Shuai<\/a> and Cristina Buc\u0219a<\/a> — cruising to a 6-3, 6-3 win to punch their ticket into the semifinals of a WTA 500 event for the first time in their careers.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n

2 Related<\/p>\n

It is worth noting that Zhang is a three-time Grand Slam champion, and as recently as at last month’s Australian Open<\/a>, while Buc\u0219a was a bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympic Games — albeit both with different partners.<\/p>\n

There was also an element of revenge for Eala as it was Buc\u0219a who ended her hopes in the second round<\/a> of last year’s US Open, after the former had become the first player from the Philippines<\/a> to win a singles match in the main draw of a Grand Slam.<\/p>\n

Quick starts proved decisive in both sets, as Eala and Tjen struck early with consecutive breaks to surge ahead 3-0 on each occasion. That early cushion allowed them to dictate play, blending sharp net coverage with steady baseline exchanges to keep their more experienced opponents at bay.<\/p>\n

While Zhang and Buc\u0219a attempted to claw their way back, the Southeast Asian duo consistently shut the door, holding firm in key moments to close out each set without drama.<\/p>\n

The win not only highlighted Eala’s growing comfort at this level but also underscored the chemistry she shares with Tjen, as the pair showed poise well beyond their years.<\/p>\n

Advancing to the final four marks a breakthrough result for both players and another meaningful step forward for Southeast Asian representation on the WTA stage.<\/p>\n

Next up for the pairing is a semifinal clash against fourth seeds Tereza Mihal\u00edkov\u00e1<\/a> and Olivia Nicholls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Earlier, a day after a stunning victory in the round of 16<\/a> against Aliaksandra Sasnovich<\/a>, Eala suffered defeat against world No. 11 Alexandrova in the singles’ quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Alexandrova set the tone early, breaking serve in the opening set to take control and eventually build a 5-2 cushion. Eala showed grit by holding serve and extending the set, but the Russian closed it out at 6-3 with little room for error.<\/p>\n

Eala opened the second set with her first lead of the match, holding serve to go up 1-0, but Alexandrova quickly responded with an early break to regain momentum. The Filipino managed to stay within striking distance, including a key hold and a brief deadlock at 3-all after earning a break opportunity.<\/p>\n

However, Alexandrova raised her level when it mattered most, breaking back and sealing the match with authority to advance, denying Eala a comeback despite her late resistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a magical run while it lasted in the singles draw, but Alex Eala can still continue…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-463888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}