WTA Abu Dhabi Open Round-up | Alexandra Eala sparks celebrations as Badosa and Kasatkina can’t keep up

The WTA 500 Abu Dhabi continues in action at the start of the Middle East Swing, with several top names returning to the court after the Australian swing. The Filipino Alexandra Eala made a notable comeback, defeating Zeynep Sonmez in straight sets.

The tournament has already seen its first shocks, including the early elimination of eighth seed Paula Badosa at the hands of lucky loser Aliaksandra Sasnovich, as well as the defeat of Australian former top-10 Daria Kasatkina by qualifier Simona Waltert.

Spanish player Paula Badosa is looking to recover from an early loss in Austria and a significant drop in the rankings. After failing to defend her semifinals points in Melbourne last year, she now sits at No. 65 and needs wins to return to the top tier. However, her tournament did not start well, as she was defeated by Aliaksandra Sasnovich (No. 109) 4-6, 6-3, 1-6. The Belarusian, who has also struggled to maintain top-level form due to injuries, overcame a strong Badosa performance in the second set to claim the third-set victory.

It was a particularly erratic match for Badosa, who was still searching for competitive rhythm. She hit six aces but also eight double faults, creating problems. While her first serve was effective – hitting 68%, equal to her opponent – her second serve was a headache, winning only 30% of points compared to 45% for Sasnovich.

Although Badosa maintained a good competitive rhythm in the first two sets, she collapsed in the final part of the match, with Sasnovich winning five games in a row to secure the victory. Badosa will travel to Doha for her next challenge, where she will compete in the main draw next week.

Alexandra Eala (No. 45) was the star of the night in Abu Dhabi, with Filipino fans turning out in force to support their representative. She faced one of the Middle East favorites: Turkish player Zeynep Sonmez (No. 79), who received a wildcard from the organizers.

It was a tight battle between two of the rising talents on the WTA Tour. In the first set, Eala earned the first break, which Sonmez immediately returned, and the same pattern repeated minutes later. Eala took the second break and managed to hold on to win the set 6-4, taking advantage of Sonmez’s struggles on first serve, which landed only 46% of the time compared to 75% for Eala.

In the second set, Eala maintained her momentum and quickly built a lead, securing an early break and extending it to 3-0 with solid service games. The set developed into a battle of breaks, with Sonmez breaking twice but Eala breaking three times. Eala had the responsibility to serve out the match and ultimately closed the win 6-4, 6-3. She will face Sasnovich – Badosa’s conqueror – in the second round.

Daria Kasatkina (No. 62) continues in inconsistent form and again exited early from a WTA event. The former world No. 8 has only one win and four losses so far this season, losing this time to young Swiss qualifier Simona Waltert (No. 94), who is still inexperienced at WTA 500 level tournaments. Waltert won 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4, advancing to her career-high ranking and entering the top 80 for the first time.

It was a two-hour and 46-minute battle in which Kasatkina wasted several opportunities. In the first set, she led 6-5 with serve in hand, but Waltert recovered the break and forced a tiebreak, eventually securing a set that seemed lost minutes earlier.

In the second set, Kasatkina showed her fighting spirit, coming back from 1-3 down to win five consecutive games and take the set 6-3. She seemed poised for a comeback in the decider, leading 4-2 and saving several break points, but Waltert responded strongly in the final minutes, winning the last four games in a row, including two consecutive breaks, to secure the match and advance to the second round of a WTA 500 for the first time. Kasatkina will travel to Doha for her next tournament.