With her Round-of-32 win over sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, rising star Alexandra Eala broke one of Naomi Osaka’s records at the WTA 1000 level. The 20-year-old defeated the 2024 Dubai Open winner 6-1, 7-6(5) in an hour and 40 minutes on Tuesday, February 17.
At 20 years and 268 days, Eala has become the youngest Asian woman to secure wins over top 10 players at multiple WTA 1000 tournaments. She surpassed four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who achieved the feat at 20 years and 350 days in 2018.
“20, 268 – Since the Tier format’s introduction in 1990, Alexandra Eala (20 years 268 days) is now the youngest Asian player to claim WTA top 10 wins at multiple Tier I/WTA-1000 events, surpassing Naomi Osaka (20 years 350 days). Scalps,” OptaAce wrote on X.
Before defeating Paolini in Dubai, Eala, who graduated from Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in 2023, registered top-10 wins at the 2025 Miami Open. The Filipino beat Madison Keys, ranked fifth at the time, 6-4, 6-2 in the Round of 32, and Iga Swiatek, ranked second at the time, 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
Osaka, on the other hand, overcame Karolína Plíšková and Simona Halep at the 2018 Indian Wells before dispatching Julia Görges in the third round of the 2018 China Open.
“Great Achievement For Me” – Alexandra Eala on Defeating Jasmine Paolini in Dubai
In her opening match at the 2026 Dubai Open, Alexandra Eala received a walkover, as America’s Hailey Baptiste retired due to an abdominal injury when the Filipino was leading 6-4, 0-1.
Against Jasmine Paolini, it took Eala five match points to get over the line. During her on-court interview after the match, the World No. 47 said (via WTA Tennis):
“All the emotions are coming because the tension was so high, especially during that second set. So I’m really happy to have gotten through. (Paolini) is a great opponent, obviously, being Top 10 and a former champion here, so to be able to compete with her at this level is a great achievement for me.”
Alexandra Eala will face Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, February 18.
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