Eala, Tjen reach Abu Dhabi Open doubles quarterfinals

Alex Eala and Janice Tjen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Abu Dhabi Open women’s doubles after outlasting Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Kristina Mladenovic of France, 7–5, 3–6, 10–6, Feb. 3.


The victory marked the first time two Southeast Asian players teamed up to reach the doubles quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament, underscoring the growing presence of the region on the global tennis stage.

The Southeast Asian tandem showed composure under pressure in the match tiebreak, stringing together four straight points to close out the contest after the Canadian-French pair rallied from a 6–3 deficit.

Momentum swung back and forth throughout the match, beginning with a tight opening set in which Eala and Tjen erased a 0–2 hole.

They held set point at 5–4 before Fernandez and Mladenovic forced a race to two, but the Filipina-Indonesian duo responded with a decisive 11th game to claim the frame.

Fernandez and Mladenovic answered in the second set, turning a 2-all tie into a 4-2 cushion and maintaining control the rest of the way to force a deciding tiebreak.

There, Eala and Tjen jumped ahead early and held firm despite a late push, sealing the upset with confident net play and steady returns.

Eala and Tjen will next face either Ukrainian twins Nadiia and Lyudmyla Kichenok or second seeds Cristina Bucsa and Shuai Zhang for a spot in the semifinals.