Alex Eala has begun her Italian Open campaign with a hard-fought victory over Magdalena Frech.
Eala proved too strong for her Polish opponent, winning the first-round contest 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 in the Nicola Pietrangeli Stadium.
How far can Alex Eala go at the Italian Open?
She's into the second round!
After defeating Frech, Eala is set to play China’s Xinyu Wang in the Italian Open second round.
Eala is also set to play doubles with Hailey Baptiste, who recently defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka at the Madrid Open.
If Eala does play with Baptiste, it will be the sixth time the Filipina has participated in a WTA doubles event this year.
Alex Eala’s appetite for doubles could elongate her career
Alex Eala has played doubles on the WTA Tour five times this year.
Her best results have come at the ASB Classic and Abu Dhabi Open.
In New Zealand, Eala and fellow youngster Iva Jovic reached the semi-final stage, before losing to Chinese pair Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.
A month later, Eala and Janice Tjen were defeated in the Abu Dhabi Open semi-finals by Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls.
Alex Eala’s 2026 WTA doubles results
- ASB Classic: Semi-finals
- Australian Open: First round
- Abu Dhabi Open: Semi-finals
- Indian Wells: First round
- Madrid Open: Second round
- Italian Open: ?
Eala is making an extremely smart play by competing in so many doubles events during the early stages of her professional career.
By playing doubles on a consistent basis, Eala will most certainly be improving her net game, reflexes and anticipation.
These improved skills can be applied to her singles game moving forward, potentially leading to greater achievements down the line.
Of course, Eala’s experience playing doubles may help to elongate her career, in both the singles and doubles formats.
Many singles players have chosen to focus on doubles later in their careers. Sara Errani and Martina Hingis are prime examples of this as former top five-ranked singles players who have gone on to win major titles in doubles.
Transitioning from singles to doubles at a later stage remains an option for Alex Eala.
And with the experiences she is currently gaining on the doubles court, her career could be extended beyond current expectations.
Alex Eala’s one previous match against Xinyu Wang
At the 2026 ASB Classic, Alex Eala and Xinyu Wang contested their first WTA Tour match.
The pair met in the semi-finals: Eala had defeated Donna Vekic, Petra Marcinko and Magda Linette, while Wang had beaten Caty McNally, Renata Zarazua and Fran Jones.
Wang emerged victorious against the Filipina in the last four, winning their contest 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
“It was a crazy battle from the start to the end, for sure. She’s an absolute fighter,” Wang said after the contest, as per Tennis365.
“To be honest, I feel more pressure when I am 5-0 up than when I am behind. I’m really happy that I got through this one today and to my first-ever final.”
