Alexandra Eala is still dreaming big as she continued her perfect BNP Paribas Open debut on Sunday evening, moving into the fourth round after Coco Gauff was forced to retire.
Eala was on her way to winning the first set when her opponent, Gauff, took a medical timeout late in the set for a left arm injury. After going down a break in the second, Gauff chose not to continue, trailing 6-2, 2-0.
The result is a reversal of their last match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Back then, Eala was overwhelmed and overpowered by the world No. 4 in a lopsided 6-0, 6-2 quarterfinal defeat. It also marks Eala’s first Top 5 win since the 2025 Miami Open (No. 2 Iga Swiatek).
“I was definitely a little nervous. It was a big stadium, and, of course, a big opponent,” Eala told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj after the match. “And, yeah, I was really motivated, super excited to play the match. Those back and forths were really intense for me, and I’m happy that I was able to get some of them.”
“I think (I made) less errors,” she explained. “I missed a lot more than I would have liked in Dubai. That’s also partly because she played so well and forced me to miss, so I think that’s one of the things I did a little better today.”
