EALA EYES STRONG MIDDLE EAST SWING FINISH IN DUBAI

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis hotshot Alexandra "Alex" Eala will look to finish her Middle East swing campaign on a high note at the Dubai Tennis Championships which will run from February 15 to 21.

Eala had been granted a main draw slot in the tournament which was in its final qualifying round Saturday.

The main draw will begin on Monday.

Initially, Eala was only given a slot in the qualifying stages but was upgraded to a main draw one after late withdrawals from top players including world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and no. 2 Iga Swiatek.  

Defending champ and world no. 7 Mirra Andreeva is still in the tournament, though.

The WTA 1000-level Dubai Tennis Championships will be Eala's sixth tournament of the year and third in the Middle East Swing.

World no. 40 Eala kickstared her campaign in the Middle East at the Abu Dhabi Open.

Eala reached the quarterfinals in the singles division and the semis with Indonesian Janice Tjen in doubles of the 500-level tourney.

The 20-year-old netter then competed at the Qatar Open, falling to  Tereza Valentova, 6(6)-7, 1-6, in the first round (round of 64) last Monday.

Eala aims for a bounce back in this Dubai competition with a lot at stake.

The champion will bag $665K or P38.4 million plus 1000 ranking points.

If Eala reaches the quarterfinals like she did in Abu Dhabi, she will claim $98,500 or P5.6 million with 215 points.

2026-02-14T07:44:43Z