{"id":1772857,"date":"2026-02-15T20:13:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T17:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1772857"},"modified":"2026-02-15T20:13:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T17:13:03","slug":"jasmine-paolini-and-dubai-director-explain-why-alexandra-eala-is-already-huge-for-womens-tennis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1772857","title":{"rendered":"Jasmine Paolini and Dubai director explain why Alexandra Eala is already &#8216;huge&#8217; for women&#8217;s tennis"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Jasmine Paolini and Dubai director explain why Alexandra Eala is already \u2018huge\u2019 for women\u2019s tennis<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/oliver-paton\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Oliver Paton                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"15 Feb 2026 8:13 PM\" data-ps-date=\"15 Feb 2026 8:13 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1771186383\"><br \/>\n                            15 Feb 2026 8:13 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/jasmine-paolini-dubai-director-explain-alexandra-eala-huge-womens-tennis\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to facebook\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a 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for women\u2019s tennis\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Alex-Eala-with-a-forehand-shot-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Alex Eala plays a forehand return\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Alex Eala in action                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Alexandra Eala is already \u2018huge\u2019 and \u2018important\u2019 for tennis, according to both Jasmine Paolini and the director of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, with the Filipina moving into the second round of the event.<\/p>\n<p>The world No 40 was in action on Monday in the United Arab Emirates tournament against Hailey Baptiste.<\/p>\n<p>The American retired whilst down 6-4, 0-1, due to an abdominal injury.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alex-eala\">Eala<\/a> looked in solid form and received a rapturous reception from the crowd, which have become commonplace for the youngster.<\/p>\n<p>She will next play former Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, with the pair having never met at a professional event.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian was asked about what Eala means for the future of women\u2019s tennis, given how well received she has been.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s really important to have people from all around the world playing tennis,\u201d said Paolini.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomebody like Alexandra Eala, it\u2019s a huge thing for tennis. I think it\u2019s great to have many, many fans also coming in tournaments where usually there are fewer people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike Abu Dhabi was full of people watching Eala. I also remember the first match in Doha, you could hear from outside the court people cheering for her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s great. I think also for the generation that are coming after that for tennis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all know Asia has a big population, so a lot of people that can come to tennis, can support us, can support our sport, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Latest Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/atp-tour\/carlos-alcaraz-admits-weaknesses-ahead-return-action\">Carlos Alcaraz acknowledges his \u2018weaknesses\u2019 ahead of return to action<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/coco-gauff-responds-calls-iga-swiatek-aryna-sabalenka-punished-skipping-event\">Coco Gauff responds to calls for Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to be \u2018punished\u2019 after skipping event<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Eala has had a mixed 2026 season so far, reaching the semi-finals of Auckland before being defeated in the first round of the Australian Open.<\/p>\n<p>Since that disappointing defeat, the Filipina already managed to make the last eight in both Manila and Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n<p>Tahlak \u2013 director of the Dubai event \u2013 shared a similar sentiment to Paolini and, correctly, predicted that the large Filipino community would welcome the 20 year old with open arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe (Eala) is a fantastic young player,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is very positive and very enthusiastic. So we are hopeful [that she is received well].<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have three thousand Filipino staff in Dubai Duty Free. And such a Filipino presence in Dubai and the UAE in general.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s close to one million, the number of Filipinos we have in the UAE now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very big community. So it\u2019s important because we are creating loyalty among fans. You create knowledge and awareness about the player, and they follow the player.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is an Asian player who is making a mark on the world stage. So when a rising Asian star arrives here for this tournament, it will only upgrade the tennis and our tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jasmine Paolini and Dubai director explain why Alexandra Eala is already \u2018huge\u2019 for women\u2019s tennis Oliver Paton 15 Feb 2026 8:13 PM Alex Eala in action Alexandra Eala is already \u2018huge\u2019 and \u2018important\u2019 for tennis, according to both Jasmine Paolini and the director of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, with the Filipina moving into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1772857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1772857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1772857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1772857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1772857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1772857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1772857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}