Alex Eala advances to Indian Wells Open Round of 16 as Coco Gauff retires injured

Alex Eala finally got one over Coco Gauff, but it wasn’t the way either player wanted the match to end.

The Philippine tennis star delivered a stunning 6–2, 2-0 victory as the world no. 4 Gauff retired with an apparent injury in their Round of 32 clash at the 2026 Indian Wells Open on Monday in California, USA.

The Filipina scored her first win over the American ace just over two weeks after Gauff dominated her with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph during the Dubai Tennis Championships quarterfinals on February 20.

"I really didn’t wanna win this way, but this is still a really big moment for me to be able to play on the stadium of the Indian Wells and against such a great competitor," Eala said in the post-game interview.

"I’m really grateful to be here and I’m super happy."

The 21-year-old Gauff started out with authority after seizing a 2-1 lead in Set 1 over the Filipina ace, but Eala quickly turned the tide in her favor to draw first blood.

The 20-year-old won five straight games, highlighted by a gritty win in the extended fourth game, a sweep in the fifth, and a comeback effort in the sixth before dominating the next game to clinch a 5-2 cushion. 

Gauff then had her left arm checked during a medical timeout but returned to the match after several minutes. However, the American star was unable to regroup and surrendered a double fault that allowed Eala to take the opening set.

Eala built an early 2–0 cushion in the second set, but the match ended shortly after when Gauff decided to retire, paving the way for the Filipina’s win.

Eala will next face world no. 14 Linda Noskova of Czech in the Round of 16.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News