February 16, 2026

Alex Eala moves on as Hailey Baptiste retires from Dubai Tennis Championships

Alex Eala moves on as Hailey Baptiste retires from Dubai Tennis Championships
Alex Eala gets her first WTA 1000 win of the year in Dubai. File photo: RM Chua/One Sports

What was shaping up to be a nice back-and-forth match between Alex Eala and Hailey Baptiste in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships ended prematurely early Monday, Feb. 16 (PH time).

This after Baptiste had to retire early in the second set due to apparent abdominal issues.

Eala was trailing 0-1 in the second set, but the Filipina was leading the match after taking care of the opening frame, 6-4.

With the decision, Eala is through to the next round where she will face no. 6 seed and current WTA world no. 8 Jasmine Paolini.


Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.

He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.

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