{"id":1780130,"date":"2026-02-19T17:15:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1780130"},"modified":"2026-02-19T17:15:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:15:57","slug":"coco-gauff-sends-classy-message-to-alex-ealas-fans-after-dubai-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1780130","title":{"rendered":"Coco Gauff sends classy message to Alex Eala&#8217;s fans after Dubai showdown"},"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\">Coco Gauff sends classy message to Alex Eala\u2019s fans after Dubai showdown<\/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\/oli-dickson-jefford\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Oli Dickson Jefford                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"19 Feb 2026 5:15 PM\" data-ps-date=\"19 Feb 2026 5:15 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1771521357\"><br \/>\n                            19 Feb 2026 5:15 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\/coco-gauff-sends-classy-message-alex-eala-fans-after-dubai-showdown\" 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%2Fcoco-gauff-sends-classy-message-alex-eala-fans-after-dubai-showdown\" class=\"!text-info 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href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fcoco-gauff-sends-classy-message-alex-eala-fans-after-dubai-showdown\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/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=\"Coco Gauff sends classy message to Alex Eala\u2019s fans after Dubai showdown\"><\/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\/Coco-Gauff-Alex-Eala-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Coco Gauff and Alex Eala.\">                <\/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                                WTA Tour stars Coco Gauff and Alex Eala.                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Coco Gauff paid a classy tribute to Alex Eala and the Filipina\u2019s large fanbase following the pair\u2019s first-ever career meeting at the Dubai Tennis Championships.<\/p>\n<p>World No 4 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/coco-gauff\">Gauff<\/a> and world No 47 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alex-eala\">Eala<\/a> faced off at the quarter-final stage of the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, and it was the American who ultimately sealed a largely resounding victory.<\/p>\n<p>Gauff had been forced to save three match points in her round-three contest versus Elise Mertens on Wednesday, but this was a much more straightforward affair for the 21-year-old, claiming a comprehensive 6-0, 6-2 triumph.<\/p>\n<p>The two-time Grand Slam champion won the first 10 games of the contest, and despite struggles on her serve, survived a late Eala fightback to seal her place in the semi-final of the event for the first time since 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could have served a little bit better, but I made it in when it mattered,\u201d said Gauff, during her on-court interview.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlex is a tough competitor, and even when I was up, I knew that she could come back at any given moment \u2014 I\u2019ve seen her do it before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Much like across her first three Dubai matches against Hailey Baptiste, Jasmine Paolini, and Sorana Cirstea, Eala received huge fan support during the encounter, despite being unable to challenge Gauff regularly.<\/p>\n<p>The 20-year-old has become one of the biggest draws in the women\u2019s game and regularly attracts huge attention wherever she plays, with a passionate Filipino following.<\/p>\n<h2>Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/iga-swiateks-father-tells-critics-mind-your-own-business-questioning-relationship-psychologist\">Iga Swiatek\u2019s father tells critics \u2018mind your own business\u2019 after they questioned role of psychologist<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/destanee-aiava-never-felt-like-belonged-australian-opens-up-retirement-statement\">Destanee Aiava \u2018never felt like I belonged\u2019 as Australian opens up on bombshell retirement statement<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Though Gauff was conscious that she had the majority of the crowd support against her on Thursday, the world No 4 paid a classy tribute to both Eala and the Filipino fans present inside the stadium.<\/p>\n<p>She added: \u201cThank you guys for coming out here. I know you were mostly supporting Alex, but I have to say it\u2019s great to be on a crowded court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve played this tournament for many years, and to see the stadium full, it means a lot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlso, I\u2019d like to thank Alex for bringing a new demographic to the sport. I really appreciate it. I think it\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know sometimes it\u2019s tough when you\u2019re playing against a \u2018home\u2019 crowd, but I think that it\u2019s great for the sport, so keep being enthusiastic, and keep rooting for your player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gauff is one of three American women through to the semi-final of the WTA 1000 event, with fourth seed Jessica Pegula and second seed Amanda Anisimova progressing earlier in the day.<\/p>\n<p>Pegula defeated 12th seed and 2025 Dubai runner-up Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/mirra-andreeva-dubai-championships-prize-money-ranking-points-title-defence-ends\">while Anisimova beat fifth seed and reigning champion Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(4)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Anisimova and Pegula will do battle at the semi-final stage, while Gauff will face either seventh seed Elina Svitolina or lucky loser Antonia Ruzic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <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> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/aryna-sabalenka-iga-swiatek-defended-former-no-1-ranking-point-punishment\">Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek defended by former No 1 after ranking point \u2018punishment\u2019 suggestion<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coco Gauff sends classy message to Alex Eala\u2019s fans after Dubai showdown Oli Dickson Jefford 19 Feb 2026 5:15 PM WTA Tour stars Coco Gauff and Alex Eala. Coco Gauff paid a classy tribute to Alex Eala and the Filipina\u2019s large fanbase following the pair\u2019s first-ever career meeting at the Dubai Tennis Championships. World No [&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-1780130","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\/1780130","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=1780130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780130\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1780130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1780130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1780130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}