Alex Eala Orchestrates Epic Comeback To Reach Abu Dhabi Quarter-Finals

February 05, 2026•2 min read

Cover image: Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open Facebook

ABU DHABI, UAE—Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala pulled off one of the most remarkable escapes of her career on Wednesday night, overturning a massive third-set deficit to defeat Aliaksandra Sasnovich and advance to the quarter-finals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.

In a marathon encounter that lasted nearly three hours on Stadium Court, the 20-year-old Eala demonstrated immense grit to secure a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over the Belarusian veteran. The win is particularly significant as it marks Eala’s fifth career quarter-final at the WTA Tour level, coming just days after she climbed to a career-high world ranking of No. 45.

A Test of Resilience

The match appeared to be slipping away from Eala early on. Sasnovich, a former world No. 29, dominated the opening set and looked poised to wrap up the match quickly when she raced to a 4-0 lead in the deciding third set.

However, backed by a vocal and predominantly pro-Filipino crowd at Zayed Sports City, Eala refused to concede. She clawed back to 4-2 before Sasnovich broke again to serve for the match at 5-2. Facing a match point, Eala capitalised on a Sasnovich double-fault and sparked a stunning run of four consecutive games to take a 6-5 lead.

Though Sasnovich forced a tiebreak, Eala remained composed, winning the final three points of the match to seal the win.

"I really tried in those moments to fight, I really tried to find the fight," Eala said during her on-court interview. "In the end, when I was coming back, I was able to find it. I'm really proud of that."

A Hectic Double-Header

The victory sets up a demanding schedule for the young star; on the same day, 5 February, Eala will be in court twice as she competes in both the singles quarter-finals and the doubles quarter-finals.

In the singles draw, she faces a high-stakes clash against the tournament's second seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova, while in doubles, she will partner with Indonesia's Janice Tjen to take on the second-seeded duo of Cristina Bucsa and Zhang Shuai.

Eala’s path to the second round began on 3 February 2026, where she secured a straight-sets victory over Turkey’s Zeynep Sönmez (6-4, 6-3). Her resilience in the second round has now positioned her as a double-threat in the tournament's final stages.