Alex Eala’s Dubai form shouldn’t overshadow very real clay-court concerns

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Alex Eala defeated Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships.

The fan favorite Filipina picked up her third career top-10 win in the second round, defeating Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.

Her win over Cirstea in round three set up a blockbuster quarterfinal match with Coco Gauff.

There’s a lot for Eala to look forward to in Dubai, but the good times may not last forever.

After all, we’re edging ever closer to the clay-court season, where Eala failed to impress in 2025.

Clay is Alex Eala’s worst surface

The Filipina has always excelled on hard courts and impressed on grass last year.

But she’s yet to enjoy success on the clay.

Alexandra Eala will finish 2026 ranked — in the world

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In 2025, Eala only won two matches on the surface.

Alex Eala on clay in 2025 (2-4)

And one of those wins was at a WTA 125 event in Portugal.

Her sole tour-level win on clay last year came in the first round of the Madrid Open against Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova.

If she wants to compete with the very best in women’s tennis and climb to the top of the world rankings, she can’t afford a repeat of that in 2026.

Eala needs to find another level on the clay, by any means necessary.

But how can she achieve better results on what is statistically her worst surface?

Alex Eala’s win-loss records by surface (WTA Tour)

• Hard: 31-31 (50%)
• Grass: 11-5 (69%)
• Clay: 5-8 (38%)

Well, perhaps she should turn to her coach, Joan Bosch.

The Spaniard worked with his countryman Carlos Moya for seven years during the latter stages of his career.

During that period, Moya won several big clay-court titles, including the 2004 Italian Open.

Training one of the best clay-court players of a generation, Bosch certainly knows a thing or two about the red stuff.

Eala should make use of Bosch’s wealth of clay-court knowledge and try to learn as much as possible.

Perhaps she could even persuade the Spaniard to bring in his former pupil, Moya, for a training session.

There’s no reason why Eala cannot one day find success on the clay, but if she is to do so, she’s going to have to put in the work.

Eala has no issue working hard, though, and with the right team around her, it might not be long before things click for her on the clay.

What clay-court events should Alex Eala play in 2026?

The 20-year-old needs to build confidence on the surface before the French Open begins, but where should she start her clay-court campaign?

In 2025, she chose to play the WTA 125 event in Oeiras, but that didn’t exactly go to plan.

Before the two WTA 1000 events (Madrid Open and Italian Open), there are five tour-level clay tournaments for Eala to choose from.

2026 WTA Tour clay swing

The Copa Colsanitas would theoretically be the easiest of the five events to win.

Last year, Marie Bouzkova (#50) was the only top-50 player who made the trip to Colombia.

If Eala could win the title in Colombia, she’d head back over to Europe for the two WTA 1000 events full of confidence.

After Madrid and Rome, the Filipina could choose between two more clay events, if she wants even more practice before Roland Garros.

2026 French Open warm-up events

• Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500)
• Morocco Open (WTA 250)

To get acclimatised to the conditions in France, it might make sense for Eala to enter the Strasbourg tournament.

There are plenty of decisions for Eala and Bosch to make over the next month or two, but she won’t want to worry about the clay season just yet.

For now, she has a job to do in Dubai, as she prepares for her quarterfinal match.

Eala will play Gauff in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday, February 19.