Who is Sorana Cirstea? Alex Eala's Round of 16 foe at the Dubai Tennis Championships 

Alexandra "Alex" Eala pulled off her biggest victory of the year so far, stunning world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini in the Round of 32 of the Dubai Tennis Championships early Wednesday.

The win marked the third time the Filipina star has defeated a WTA Top 10 player, following previous triumphs over Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys during her breakout run at the Miami Open last year.

Eala now faces another formidable test in the Round of 16 against Sorana Cirstea.

The 35-year-old Romanian veteran is currently ranked No. 32 and reached a career-high No. 21 thirteen years ago. She owns four WTA singles titles, the most recent coming at the WTA 250 Transylvania Open two weeks ago on home soil.

Cirstea enjoyed a near-perfect campaign in Cluj-Napoca. She opened with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Kamilla Rakhimova in the Round of 32, then routed Tamara Zidansek 6-1, 6-0 in the next round.

She followed that with a 7-5, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over Anastasia Potapova and a dominant 6-0, 6-3 semifinal win against Daria Snigur.

That set up a finals showdown with top seed Emma Raducanu, whom Cirstea overpowered, 6-0, 6-2, to clinch the title.

Cirstea is expected to carry that momentum into her clash with the Pinay netter.

However, this will not be the first hard-court meeting between Cirstea and Eala.

In 2024, the two battled in the Round of 64 of the Madrid Open, where Cirstea escaped with a 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 victory.

Eala will be seeking redemption this time as she aims to book a quarterfinal berth, where she could face either world No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 22 Elise Mertens.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News