Alexandra Eala finds brand-new partner to enter Italian Open doubles at last-minute
Alexandra Eala’s time at the Italian Open singles ended at the round of 32 stages, as she was defeated in straight sets by Elena Rybakina, but she will not play the doubles as an alternate. 4
Eala has often played doubles this year and has been paired with some high-profile partners, including Iva Jovic, Zeynep Sonmez, and Janice Tjen.
The star was not intially on the entry list for this year’s Italian Open, although she does have previous experience in the doubles at the Rome event.
She paired with Coco Gauff in 2025 as they reached the quarter-finals and this year she has accepted a last-minute entry alongside Hailey Baptiste.
Baptiste and Eala have never played doubles together before, but they have both enjoyed impressive displays across the 2026 season so far.
Baptiste defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open quarter-finals at the last tournament, before losing out to Mirra Andreeva in the last four.
Her Italian Open campaign ended at the same stage as Eala, as she was beaten in straight sets by Elina Svitolina in the round of 32 stage. The doubles event will provide both women with much-needed match practice on the clay ahead of Roland Garros.
Eala and Baptiste have been handed an exceptionally hard first round match, as they will play number two seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.
Should they provide an upset in the first round, Sorana Cirstea and Jaqueline Cristian will await Eala and Baptiste. Cirstea is currently enjoying a dream run in the singles in Rome, which has seen her defeat Aryna Sabalenka and Linda Noskova to reach the last eight.
Baptiste and Eala have also been drawn in the same section of the draw as Gauff and Caty McNally, Iva Jovic and Anna Kalinskaya, and Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Cristina Bucșa.
Jessica Pegula is also set to appear in the doubles and she will compete in the opposite side of the draw to Eala and Baptiste, alongside Australian Storm Hunter.
Eala has already played five tournaments so far in the doubles, with her best performance coming at the Abu Dhabi Open alongside Tjen.
The pair reached the semi-finals of the WTA 500 event, before they were defeated by Olivia Nicholls and Tereza Mihalikova.
Eala has already played Hailey Baptiste in doubles competition this year, at Indian Wells. Eala and Jovic were knocked out in the first round by Baptiste and Jelena Ostapenko.
With both women excelling in doubles competition over the years, the pair could be a dark horse for the Italian Open this year, especially as they have entered at the last minute.
Even if they do not succeed at the Italian Open, they could well be an interesting pairing going forward on the WTA Tour and it’s another impressive partnership for Eala.
