MANILA, Philippines – It’s been so far, so good for Alex Eala in the Madrid Open. After a triumphant start to her singles campaign, the Filipina also advanced in the doubles event of the WTA 1000 tournament in Spain as she and partner Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey reached the round of 16 on Thursday, April 23. Close friends off the court, Eala and Sonmez showed their chemistry on it following a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Hungary’s Fanny Stollar and Chinese Taipei’s Chan Hao-ching.
On paper, Stollar and Chan looked more adept in doubles, where they are ranked 27th and 38th, respectively, in the world. But the brilliance of Eala and Sonmez, who sit at 44th and 67th in the singles rankings, respectively, stood out as they won the match in just one hour and one minute. It marked the third tournament that Eala made it past the first round of a doubles event in 2026 after reaching the semifinals of the ASB Classic in New Zealand in January with American Iva Jovic and the Abu Dhabi Open in UAE in February with Indonesian Janice Tjen.
Eala and Sonmez are on a collision course with second seeds Katerina Siniakova of Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the United States, who will face Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and USA’s Desirae Krawczyk. Townsend and Siniakova have won two doubles titles together this 2026 as they ruled the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open. – Rappler.com