Alexandra Eala’s opponent, the World No. 11 from Chelyabinsk, Russia, has recently shared her thoughts after crushing the title hopes of the former, defeating her in the quarterfinals at the 2026 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open. Before the outdoor hard-court WTA 500 event in the United Arab Emirates, the Filipino star had competed in multiple tournaments, including the Australian Open.
Russian Star Conquers Her Clash Against Alexandra Eala With a Positive Mindset
Eala has commenced her 2026 season with the ASB Classic, where she advanced to the semifinal round, and then entered the first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park, losing to American player Alycia Parks in the first round. At the Philippine Women’s Open in her homeland, she reached the quarterfinal, losing to Camila Osorio.
The Rafael Nadal Academy’s graduate, who has been steadily improving in her performance and form, concluded her Abu Dhabi Open with a quarterfinal loss with a final scoreline of 6-3, 6-3, in 1 hour and 30 minutes.
With the win, Ekaterina Alexandrova has reached the first semifinal of her season, and during the post-match interview, she reflected on Eala while also highlighting her appreciation for the crowd.
She expressed, “Well, I knew she’s gonna play good and she’s a great player and I saw the last match, so she was fine till the end. And I knew it’s gonna be difficult, but I think atmosphere was amazing today. The crowd, I know they’re cheering for her, but I think the atmosphere was great. So I enjoyed my time on the court. I tried to do my best and I’m really happy that I could finish into set because it was really difficult in the end.”
Ekaterina post-match interview
“I think the atmosphere was amazing today, I know the crowd were cheering for her but I think the atmosphere was great!” 😂👏 pic.twitter.com/2oPcJvV2nP
— til polarity’s end 🎾⚡#SpallettiEra⚡⚫⚪ (@lildarkcage) February 5, 2026
Furthermore, Alexandrova continued revealing how she mentally handled the challenging match, “I was trying to remind myself, you know, you need to play until the last point. And I was trying to focus on every single point, no matter what the score was. So I was just like, just was trying to keep my focus on that.”
READ MORE: Alexandra Eala Trapped in Severely Tight Schedule in Abu Dhabi As Singles, Doubles Matches Loom
Apart from her singles journey, Eala is also competing in the doubles category with the Indonesian player Janice Tjen, the World No. 47. The duo has defeated Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucșa in the quarterfinal and has advanced to the semifinal.
