After making an early exit in the women’s singles event, Alex Eala is bringing in a big gun in world No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States as they team up in the women’s doubles event of the Rome Open at the Foro Italico Stadium.
It’s going to be an explosive partnership as Eala, the 19-year-old Filipina rising star who is at world No. 70, will be playing with the 21-year-old Gauff, who was known for her aggressive approach, insane athleticism and strong serves, for the first time ever.
Their first test will be against the European pair of Alexandra Panova of Russia and Fanny Stollar of Hungary in the Round of 32 on Friday.
Gauff, whose speed and aggressiveness enabled her to win the singles event of the US Open in 2023, will be competing with fire in her eyes as she is looking for her first doubles crown after falling short in back-to-back final appearances in the Rome Open.
She teamed up with world No. 4 and fellow American Jessica Pegula in 2023 and joined forces with Erin Routliffe of New Zealand in 2024.
On the same note, Eala is also craving for redemption as she aims to wash away the pain of her 0-6, 1-6 loss to Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the Round of 128 of the women’s singles event last Thursday.
While the 22-year-old Ukrainian came out victorious after one hour and two minutes, she swears this game won’t hamper Eala’s progress and understands the struggles she faces as one of the youngest players in the Top 100.
“I just feel like when you are young, you’re so undeveloped. Your personality is still just building up, and everyone is labeling you something with your game, or your personality, and everything,” Kostyuk said.
“You’re in the middle of all this, whatever’s going on, and you’re trying to find yourself. It’s very easy to lose yourself and obviously, you don’t know what kind of people you should have around you. It’s normal.”
“It’s a part of life and a part of growth but doing that in a spotlight is always a bigger challenge, and it always has consequences.”
Kostyuk even gave Eala some words of wisdom after their match and believes Eala has what it takes to be one of the best players in the world.
“I told her on the net, ‘It’s a rough road, but you’ve got it. Just enjoy it.’ It’s not pleasant when you go onto the court after working so hard and things don’t go your way and you’re trying to figure it all out,” Kostyuk said.
“You feel everything so much more. You feel everything like it’s so big, but that’s just because their time hasn’t passed by.”
“They still haven’t had enough matches played, enough s**t that you’ve been in! But it’s cool because, if you’ve gone through that, congrats: you’re going to be better on the other side.”
Eala is using the Rome Open as part of the preparation for her main draw debut in the French Open from 25 May to 8 June at the Roland Garros Stadium.
