Eala advances as American foe retires in Dubai tilt

ALEX Eala advanced to the Round of 32 of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after posting a quick win late Sunday night, Feb. 15.

The world No. 40 Eala got past the Round of 64 after American Hailey Baptiste, ranked No. 39 in the world, retired in the second set.

The 20-year-old Eala won the opening set, 6-4. Baptiste, 24, was ahead in the second set, 0-1, when she decided to retire due to an abdominal injury.

The quick win marked the second time that Eala ousted Baptiste as she also prevailed in their main draw meeting of the WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open in Great Britain last June, 6-7(7), 7-6(7), 6-1.

In the next round, Eala will go up against world No. 8 and the tournament’s No. 6 seed Italian Jasmine Paolini, who received an early bye in the opener.

The Filipina tennis star is competing her third tournament in the Middle East after also seeing action in the Qatar TotalEnergies Open and Abu Dhabi Open.

Overall, Eala has already competed in six tournaments barely two months into 2026.(CCM)

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• #Hailey Baptiste
• #Jasmine Paolini
• #WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
• #Dubai
• #United Arab Emirates
• #Round of 32
• #Round of 64
• #abdominal injury
• #WTA 250 Lexus Eastbourne Open
• #Qatar TotalEnergies Open
• #Abu Dhabi Open
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