“There’s still definitely a gap between me and Coco”: Alexandra Eala assesses lessons after a heavy loss to Gauff

Alexandra Eala assured that there is “still definitely a gap” between herself and Coco Gauff after her 6-0, 6-2 defeat in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The 20-year-old Filipina, playing her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal, was overpowered in just 67 minutes by the world No. 4.

Despite the loss, the week marks a milestone in her season. Eala secured a rise to No. 32 in the WTA rankings, positioning her to be seeded at Indian Wells, which begins on March 4. A seeding would grant her a first-round bye and significantly reduce the likelihood of facing a higher-ranked opponent in her opening match.

The ranking move also improves her draw prospects in Miami, where one year ago she had her first breakthrough by reaching the semifinals — despite being positioned just No. 140 in the rankings at that time. Structural advantages at WTA 1000 level are meaningful for a player transitioning into consistently deeper rounds.

In Dubai, however, she faced a sharper and more established opponent in Gauff, who had saved three match points earlier in the tournament before producing her most controlled performance of the week. Eala’s assessment was direct. She began by addressing her immediate state after the defeat, saying, “I’m feeling okay. I definitely think I could be feeling better under different circumstances.”

Evaluating the match itself, Eala pointed to both Gauff’s standard and her own limitations on the night. “Yeah, I think that Coco played really well. I don’t think that was my best performance ever,” commented the 20-year-old player. “But I’m happy that I was able to bring out a certain level during the last few games,” she said, noting that she was able to compete more effectively late in the match.

She expanded on the broader competitive difference between herself and the sport’s elite. “I think at the end of the day, yeah, I definitely could have performed better. But yeah, all things aside, at the end of the day, I think there’s still definitely a gap in terms of level between me and Coco and, you know, other players of her calibre.”

Rather than framing that gap as discouraging, she positioned it as a measurable objective. “So, yeah, I think she did great, and my job is to try and close that gap, and I think I’m doing that quite well. So I’ll keep working on it, and hopefully next time we’ll be a bit tighter.”

Beyond the technical aspects of the match, Eala highlighted the contextual demands of competing at this level, particularly under night-session conditions in Dubai. “Yeah, I think it was a completely different set of challenges here,” she said, referencing the environment and tournament scale.

She also compared the experience with previous high-level events. “I think each, you know, each of those experiences were super special. So this week and Miami, everything was new there, you know, it was my first time being in the semifinal of a 1000 and playing all these players.”

Continuing on the learning curve associated with those appearances, she added: “This is a new experience for me in terms of crowd, in terms of playing all the night matches. So in each circumstance, there’s so many things that I can learn. So hopefully after this week I grow more as a player.”

Gauff now advances to face Elina Svitolina in the semifinals, while Eala turns to Indian Wells with a career-high ranking and structural advantages that reflect tangible progress. The Filipina will have a couple of important challenges ahead with a significant amount of points to defend — although her campaign this week in Dubai already allows her to cushion a large portion of the Miami points she must defend in a month’s time.