‘SEAsters’ Eala, Janice Tjen fall in Abu Dhabi Open semis

The Philippines’ Alex Eala and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen saw their inspired run at the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open come to an end after absorbing a 6–4, 6–2 semifinal loss to fourth seeds Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls, Feb. 6.



The semifinal exit marked the end of both players’ Abu Dhabi campaigns.

Eala and Tjen, fondly called by fans as the “SEAsters,” went toe-to-toe with the seasoned Slovak-British pair early, showing no signs of intimidation against one of the tour’s top-30 doubles tandems.

Tjen set the tone in the opening game with a confident service hold, while Eala proved sharp at the net as the Southeast Asian duo matched their opponents hold for hold through the first eight games.

The SEAsters earned a late break point chance in a sudden-death deuce, but failed to convert.



Mihalikova and Nicholls capitalized moments later, seizing the lone break of the set in the 10th game to take the opener. Riding that momentum, the fourth seeds surged to a 3–0 cushion in the second set.

The Slovak-British pair closed out the match in the eighth game to punch their ticket to the final.

Eala bowed out in the singles quarterfinals on Feb. 5, while Tjen exited in the second round.


The Filipino ace is set to continue her campaign at the Qatar Open, scheduled from Feb. 8 to 14, before seeing action in the Dubai Tennis Championships.