Alexandra Eala and Janice Tjen’s campaign at the Abu Dhabi Open was ended in the semi-finals by Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls.
Eala and Tjen proved a very impressive doubles outfit at the WTA 500 event as they defeated Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic, as well as Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucșa to reach the semi-finals.
Nicholls and Mihalikova proved too much for the Southeast Asian stars as they were swept aside in straight sets.
Once again the crowd were rowdily in favour of Eala and Tjen and their opponents have had their say on what they thought of the fans in attendance.
Olivia Nicholls calls Alexandra Eala’s fans ‘tough’ to play in front of
Nicholls and Mihalikova were full of praise for Eala and Tjen after knocking them out of the Abu Dhabi Open.
During their on-court interview, Mihalikova said: “They are both great players, great returners. We just did what we had to do, and showed that we are a good team.”
British star Nicholls was then asked if it was tough to play in front of a crowd who were so passionately in favour of their opponents.
Does anybody else even come close to Alex Eala’s popularity right now?
She explained: “I mean obviously the girls we are playing against have great support from their home, so it was tough at times, a lot of cheering.
“But we are super happy to play in front of so many people, because we don’t get to do that very often, so thanks to all the fans that came out, hopefully see you in the final!”
Nicholls and Mihalikova will play the winners of the semi-final match between Ekaterina Alexandrova and Maya Joint and Sofia Kenin and Desirae Krawczyk.
Alexandra Eala hits new doubles height after Abu Dhabi run
The Filipina star plays plenty of doubles and has already paired with three different partners so far in the 2026 season.
The star has partnered with Iva Jovic, Ingrid Martins, and now Tjen as she puts just as much focus on doubles as singles in 2026.
How high do you think Alexandra Eala’s ceiling is?
The star has been rewarded handsomely for her doubles exploits as she has cracked the top 100 of the rankings for the first time in her career.
Eala stands at World No. 98, having enjoyed a 38 place jump after reaching the final four of the Abu Dhabi Open.
Tjen, meanwhile, stands at world number 56 in the doubles rankings, which is also a career high for the Indonesian.
