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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. No one had expected the American to play in the doubles category at this WTA 1000, but Gauff surprised everyone.
Gauff partnered with an unfamiliar face, Alexandra Eala. The 21-year-old American star later shared the reason for partnering with Eala. The duo are through to Round 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. Both players seemed to enjoy their time together on and off the court.
The fourth seed has advanced to the fourth round in the singles category. She defeated Magda Linette in the previous round 7-5, 6-3. Coco Gauff struggled with a few double faults but managed to get over the line. She 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.
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Fans were amused to see the pairing of Coco Gauff and Alexandra Eala on the court at the doubles event. The current World No. 3 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.
Two people who didn’t know each other personally a month ago, but now partnered for the doubles event at a WTA 1000 via a message, is surely a story for ages.
Coco Gauff’s doubles partner Alexandra Eala came into spotlight after the Miami Open 2025
Alexandra Eala is originally from the Philippines but took her tennis training from Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca. A few months ago, people barely 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. She defeated the 25th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the second round in straight sets; the fifth seed Madison Keys in the third round, 6-4, 6-2; World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 7-5. 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 current WTA ranking to No. 70 in the world in the women's singles.
Eala has registered her name in the eyes of tennis fans. She is one of the rising stars in women’s tennis. Additionally, her doubles partnership with Coco Gauff will further help her improve her game.
