Coco Gauff shares Alexandra Eala’s unusual request after early Italian Open exit

Coco Gauff remains one of the most well-rounded players on the WTA Tour. With her powerful serve and groundstrokes, the American is enjoying a strong season, recently reaching a new milestone by defeating Magda Linette to advance to the Round of 16 at the Italian Open.

Gauff now faces a tough challenge in Emma Raducanu as she looks to move further in the tournament. But her success isn’t limited to singles, she’s also making headlines in doubles, where she’s teamed up with rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala.

Although Eala fell in the first round of the singles competition, she’s making the most of her time in Rome by joining forces with Gauff. Together, they await their next opponent in the doubles Round of 16. That means Gauff is competing in the Round of 16 in both disciplines.

Interestingly, Gauff revealed that the partnership with Eala came about in an unconventional way. Speaking to the media, she shared that Eala reached out to her via Instagram to suggest the doubles pairing.

“She slid in my DMs and asked me to play. I was like, ‘Sure, why not?'” Gauff told reporters in the mixed zone after advancing in both singles and doubles at Italian Open last week.

Gauff and Eala team up at the Italian Open

It was a tough singles outing for Alex Eala at the Italian Open, as she struggled to showcase her full potential against Marta Kostyuk. After the match, Kostyuk offered Eala some unexpected advice. But Eala is now shifting her focus to doubles, where she’s teaming up with Coco Gauff in Rome.

Gauff and Eala opened their doubles campaign with a convincing 6–3, 6–1 victory over Alexandra Panova and Fanny Stollar in the Round of 32. Their next challenge comes on Tuesday, when they face the Italian duo of Tyra Grant and Lisa Pigato.

Eala looks to shine in doubles

After an early exit in singles, Eala is aiming to make a deep run in doubles alongside Gauff, as she chases her first WTA career title in the discipline (she already won 3 ITF titles). She currently holds a 39–34 career record in doubles and sits at No. 456 in the WTA doubles rankings.