IT was not actually a win to be proud of totally. Coco Gauff played injured and, therefore, she was bound to lose to Alex Eala.
That, in essence, was what happened yesterday, March 9, 2026 (PH time).
Eala defeated Gauff via a walkover after Gauff retired in the second set in the Round of 32 of the cash-laden Indian Wells Open tennis in California.
Eala easily won the first set after quickly recovering from a 1-0 deficit on a service break, erasing a 2-1 Gauff lead by stringing up five straight games to win, 6-2.
After Gauff briefly held a 2-1 lead on a break-back, the No. 4 seed started to show signs of being unwell.
Before Eala’s first-set victory, Gauff surprisingly lost her serve in game four that earned Alex a 2-2 deadlock.
After Eala took a 3-2 lead, the Filipino sensation amassed the next three games in dominating fashion for a 6-2 first-set victory in a stunning development that even many of the predominantly Filipino crowd at Center Court were left quizzical.
Didn’t Gauff rout Eala, 6-0, 6-2, only last February 19 in Dubai?
Gauff’s condition took a turn for the worst after the 20-year-old Eala had taken a 5-2 lead.
The 22-year-old Gauff had a medical timeout, getting a massive massage on her left arm and left shoulder.
When play resumed, Gauff was totally gone, losing the eighth game on a double-fault after an Eala 40-0 lead for Alex’s devastating 6-2 win.
So brutal was the first-set that saw Gauff double-fault seven times, broken four times and never holding a single serve.
While Gauff is notorious for double-faults, being No. 1 in that department with a 115 total on the current Tour before she faced Eala, her demeanor yesterday was miserable to say the least.
Weighed down heavily by the injury, she quickly yielded a 2-0 deficit in the second set. She would retire and shake hands with Eala in surrender — sending Alex to the Round of 16.
She even apologized to Eala, saying “Sorry, sorry.”
After they had briefly separated, Eala went to Gauff’s corner and wished her well.
Then Eala covered her face with her cap, concealing tears after emotions had overtaken her.
“She is an amazing woman, and I wish for her fast recovery,” said Eala of Gauff, who was her doubles partner in the last Italian Open.
Eala paid tribute to “all the women of the world” on Women’s Day, and singled out her mother, Rizza, for “what I’ve become today.”
The Filipino crowd lustily cheered in the desert.