Coco Gauff reveals reason behind choosing Alexandra Eala as Italian Open doubles partner
Coco Gauff, the former women's doubles World No. 1, is playing in both the singles and doubles categories at the ongoing 2025 Italian Open. Not many expected the American to play in the doubles category at this WTA 1000, but Gauff has pulled off a surprise.
Gauff has paired up with a relatively unfamiliar face, Alexandra Eala. The duo are through to the Round of 16, where they will face Tyra Caterina Grant and Lisa Pigato on May 13.
In the first round, they defeated Alexandra Panova and Fanny Stollar in straight sets. The two players seemed to enjoy their time together on and off the court.
Gauff has also advanced to the fourth round in the singles category. She defeated Magda Linette in the previous round 7-5, 6-3, and will lock horns with Emma Raducanu in the fourth round at the Italian Open. On the other hand, Alexandra Eala got knocked out in the first round, at the hands of Marta Kostyuk, in straight sets.
Several fans were amused to see the pairing of Coco Gauff and Alexandra Eala in the doubles event. The current World No. 3 has now disclosed how the duo got together for the tournament.
“She (Eala) slid in my DMs and asked me to play. And I was like, Sure. Why not? We really didn't know each other, honestly, before in Madrid, I said hi to her for the first time (smiling). So I was just hoping she would be nice, and you know, and obviously she's such a nice person. And obviously she’s a killer in doubles, two junior slams and probably future ones too. I’m super happy to play with her,” Coco Gauff said via the First Serve.
Coco Gauff’s doubles partner Alexandra Eala came into the spotlight during Miami Open 2025
Alexandra Eala is from the Philippines but has trained at Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca. A few months ago not many knew about Eala, but her Miami Open heroics made her famous overnight.
The 19-year-old surprised everyone by reaching the semifinals of the WTA 1000 in Miami. She caused some major upsets at the tournament.
Eala defeated 25th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the second round, fifth seed Madison Keys in the third round, and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. She finally fell to Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, but not before giving a tough fight to the fourth seed, as the final score was 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3.
The semifinal appearance at the Miami Open boosted her WTA ranking to No. 70 in the world.