FILIPINO tennis star Alex Eala survived a thrilling three-set battle against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, in her main draw debut at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, March 7, 2026 (PH time).
Eala beat Yastremska again, following her earlier triumph over the Ukrainian in Eastbourne last year, improving her head-to-head record to 2-0.
The victory, which lasted two hours and 43 minutes under the windy desert sun, marks Eala’s successful main draw debut at this prestigious WTA 1000 event.
Eala, seeded 31st in the tournament, had to weather a constant barrage of power-hitting and lung-busting rallies from the hard-hitting world No. 52. After splitting the first two sets, the deciding frame became a pure test of nerves.
With the score deadlocked at 5-5 in the third, Eala found her rhythm at the service line. She fired a crucial ace at 40-all to inch ahead 6-5.
Despite momentum swinging wildly in the tense 11th and 12th games, Eala held her nerve, breaking Yastremska to close out the victory and avoid a risky tiebreak.
The win sets the stage for a blockbuster showdown against world No. 4 Coco Gauff, who recently eliminated Eala in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Both Gauff and Eala received first-round byes for being among the tournament’s 32 seeded players.
The tournament is Eala’s seventh of the season following campaigns in Auckland, the Australian Open, the Philippine Women’s Open, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai. / RSC