Dubai, UAE – 18 February 2026: Roared on by a rapturous Kabayan-majority crowd, Filipino sensation Alexandra Eala overpowered World No8 Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 7-6(5) at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday night to secure her first career win against a top-10 player and set up a last-16 clash with Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea.
With John Lennon’s Imagine playing quietly in the nearby Irish Village pre-match, Eala’s supporters were happy to dream. Yet the 20-year-old was quick to show there is little need for imagination when the reality far exceeds it.
For while Eala may be the highest-ranked Filipina in history at World No47, she clearly has no intention of settling into the spot for long. With considerable talents, evident mental strength, and a determination that saw her edge a tiebreak against a vastly more experienced opponent, the girl from Quezon City looks destined to go higher – much higher. Imagine that.
With her right thigh heavily bandaged, Eala showed little early signs of discomfort, except perhaps for an unflinching poker face as her fans cheered her name. Paolini – who enjoyed strong support here during her 2024 title win – seemed to feel the sold-out crowd were not wishing her quite so well this time around.
Eala appeared to sense it too, immediately giving her supporters plenty reason to cheer, breaking her opponent twice in quick succession to go 5-1 up before serving out the set to kick-start wild celebrations. As good as Eala was, Paolini was not helping herself, hitting seven unforced errors in the opening set, finding the net more often than fish trying to escape a trawler, and letting her chin sink further into her chest as every error was greeted with cheers.
“I think today I came out on fire,” said Eala. “She’s a great opponent obviously being top 10. To be able to compete with her at this level is a great achievement for me. She is an incredible fighter, to be sure, but I was very focused and I was able to maintain that throughout the whole match. Every time the opportunity arose, I tried my best to be brave and go for my ball.”
In the second set, with Eala 5-3 up, a comfortable straight-set win looked certain. Yet a wobble saw the Filipina fail to convert three match-points in the ninth game before failing to serve out the match in the 10th. Paolini, buoyed and ready for battle, rallied to take the match to 6-5 and even twice had the chance to force a third set, but also failed to capitalise.
In the resultant tiebreak, Eala upped her level once more to close it out and secure a monumental career win. Cue raucous celebrations both inside the 5000-capacity stadium and outside in the Tennis Village, where hordes of Filipinos had congregated to watch on beanbags
surrounded with Philippines flags and signs reading “Laban Alex!” (“Fight Alex!”) and “Let’s go Alex!”
“I looked up and there were Filipinos for days,” Eala said, smiling. “It’s really such a blessing to be able to play in these sorts of atmospheres. I am really privileged and thankful that I’m able to introduce this new sporting world – women’s tennis – to a new demographic. I think they’re really enjoying it and I hope it will inspire young girls and women of all ages to take up sports.”
Eala will return to Centre Court on Wednesday when she faces Cirstea, who earlier in the day beat Linda Noskova 6-1, 6-4. “She’s a very experienced player and physically very fit,” said Eala of the Romanian. “I’m excited. Everybody at this stage really wants to continue and I’m not an exception to that.”
Earlier in the evening on the same court, another popular figure in Dubai enjoyed strong support. Elena Rybakina, resident in the emirate and taking to the main stage in her adopted city for the first time since winning last <a href="https://menainsights.com/kempinski-hotels-observe-the-holy-month-of-ramadan-where-tradition-meets-timeless-hospitality/”>month’s Australian Open, looked perfectly at ease as she quickly saw off Australian qualifier Kimberly Birrell.
Racing to a 5-0 lead inside 20 minutes, the Kazakh dropped just one point across the first three games and looked imperious as she closed out the opening set 6-1. Birrell was unable to deal with the 26-year-old’s powerful serve and Rybakina showed a delicateness at the net that left her opponent stretching and shuttling, but ultimately always coming up short.
“To return well is an important part of the game,” said Rybakina. “Sometimes I have days when it is really working well for me and some days it is more difficult – it also depends a lot on the opponent. Where I have the best control is my serve because no one is playing to you – it’s your pace.”
The No1 seed this week, Rybakina went on another five-game winning run in the second set to open a 5-1 lead yet again. Birrell, positioned more than 90 places below her in the WTA World Rankings, held serve in the seventh, but it never felt like anything more than prolonging the inevitable as two-time Grand Slam winner Rybakina served for the match to win 6-1, 6-2.
“I’m happy I stayed solid and won this in straight sets,” the 2022 Wimbledon champion said. “I spend so much time in Dubai that it feels like home. A lot of people who work here [at this tournament] always say, ‘Welcome back’ and ‘Welcome home’ so it always feels nice. It’s a really nice atmosphere on the court, and I always get a lot of support, so it’s great to play here. I would love to have a little bit longer here with maybe a day between.”
Rybakina’s next opponent will be Lucky Loser Antonia Ruži?, who has completed three back-to-back three-set battles to reach the last 16 – including Monday’s epic Round of 32 win over British No1 Emma Raducanu. “I don’t know much about her,” said Rybakina of Ruži?, who she will face on Wednesday not before 2pm. “I have never played against her, so I will need to talk to my team and do the usual routine.”
Two-time Dubai winner Elina Svitolina also progressed to the last 16 and will now face Belinda Bencic, also on Wednesday. Ukrainian Svitolina, champion here in 2017 and 2018, moved through after Dubai-based Paula Badosa retired at the start of the second set having lost the first 4-6.
The 26th edition of the annual WTA event, which runs until February 21, features 16 of the top 20 ranked female players in the world and 35 of the top 40. The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It will be followed by the emirate’s annual ATP 500 men’s tournament from February 23 to 28.
There are multiple ticket categories still on sale for the 2026 Championships, with prices starting from Dh65. For full details, visit dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com or ticketmaster.ae