{"id":1777237,"date":"2026-02-18T06:30:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T03:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1777237"},"modified":"2026-02-18T06:30:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T03:30:40","slug":"what-alex-eala-had-to-say-after-stunning-jasmine-paolini-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1777237","title":{"rendered":"What Alex Eala had to say after stunning Jasmine Paolini win"},"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\">What Alex Eala had to say after stunning Jasmine Paolini win<\/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\/shahidaj\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Shahida Jacobs                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"18 Feb 2026 6:30 AM\" data-ps-date=\"18 Feb 2026 6:30 AM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1771396240\"><br \/>\n                            18 Feb 2026 6:30 AM                        <\/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\/what-alex-eala-had-to-say-after-stunning-jasmine-paolini-win\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to facebook\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fwhat-alex-eala-had-to-say-after-stunning-jasmine-paolini-win\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to twitter\"><\/p>\n<p>                        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<\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a class=\"!text-share-icon hover:!text-share-icon-active flex items-center justify-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" aria-label=\"Follow Tennis365 on Google Search\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"What Alex Eala had to say after stunning Jasmine Paolini win\"><\/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-inset-of-Jasmine-Paolini-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Alex Eala with inset of Jasmine Paolini\">                <\/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 with Jasmine Paolini inset                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Alex Eala secured the third top-10 win of her career as she upset two-time Grand Slam finalist and former Dubai Tennis Championships winner Jasmine Paolini to reach the third round.<\/p>\n<p>Following a comfortable opener against Hailey Baptiste as she earned a walkover after the American retired while Eala was leading 6-4, 0-1, a tougher assignment was expected against sixth seed Paolini, who won the Dubai title in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alex-eala\">Eala<\/a> \u201ccame out on fire\u201d as she blew the Italian away in the opening set and, although the world No 8 upped her game in the second set, the Filipina won 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) to claim her third top-10 victory.<\/p>\n<p>The 20-year-old\u2019s other two wins against top players were against Grand Slam winners <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\/incredible-alex-eala-statistics-stunning-iga-swiatek-miami-open\">Iga Swiatek (No 2) and Madison Keys (No 5)<\/a> during her historic run to the semi-finals of the 2025 Miami Open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think today I came out on fire,\u201d the Filipina, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-wta-rankings-milestone-jasmine-paolini-upset-dubai\">who is projected to rise to a new career high of No 38<\/a>, said. \u201cShe is an incredible fighter, to be sure, but I was very focused and I was able to maintain that throughout the whole match. Every time the opportunity arose, I tried my best to be brave and go for my ball.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>WTA News<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/dubai-tennis-championships-withdrawals-retirements-field-wta-1000-decimated\">Dubai Tennis Championships withdrawals and retirements: Field at WTA 1000 event decimated<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-reacts-wins-prestigious-award-philippines\">Alex Eala \u2018honoured\u2019 as her rise is recognised with prestigious Philippines award<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Eala added: \u201cIn the tie-break, I was trying everything to keep myself in check. At the change of ends, I was thinking, you know, this stadium is full of Filipinos. I thought, \u2018How many of them are probably praying for me to win?\u2019 So I really had to give everything I got.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As per usual for Eala matches, the stands at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre were packed with passionate Filipino fans who often encouraged her with \u201cLaban Alex!\u201d (\u201cFight Alex!\u201d) and \u201cLet\u2019s go Alex!\u201d chants and posters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI looked up and there were Filipinos for days,\u201d the proud Filipina said. \u201cIt\u2019s really such a blessing to be able to play in these sorts of atmospheres.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am really privileged and thankful that I\u2019m able to introduce this new sporting world \u2013 women\u2019s tennis \u2013 to a new demographic. I think they\u2019re really enjoying it and I hope it will inspire young girls and women of all ages to take up sports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next up is Sorana Cirstea, who upset 10th seed Linda Noskova 6-1, 6-4. The Romanian is also fresh from winning from winning her fourth career title at her home event, the Transylvania Open, earlier in February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s a very experienced player and physically very fit,\u201d Eala said. \u201cI\u2019m excited. Everybody at this stage really wants to continue and I\u2019m not an exception to that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Alex Eala had to say after stunning Jasmine Paolini win Shahida Jacobs 18 Feb 2026 6:30 AM Alex Eala with Jasmine Paolini inset Alex Eala secured the third top-10 win of her career as she upset two-time Grand Slam finalist and former Dubai Tennis Championships winner Jasmine Paolini to reach the third round. Following [&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-1777237","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\/1777237","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=1777237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1777237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1777237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1777237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1777237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}