Coco Gauff has been focusing heavily on her WTA singles career of late, but she has also teamed up with Alexandra Eala at the Italian Open.
Gauff and Eala are playing doubles at the 2025 Italian Open, and they came out on top in their opening match.
The pair edged out Alexandra Panova and Fanny Stollar in the round of 32, setting up a round of 16 clash with Lisa Pigato and Tyra Grant.
Gauff has been full of praise for Grant, who recently switched her allegiance from the United States to Italy.
Eala meanwhile has been hugely impressive on the WTA Tour in recent times, recently reaching the Miami Open semi-finals.
Coco Gauff has encouraged Alexandra Eala to play doubles as much as possible
The 19-year-old beat Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko during that run before losing to Jessica Pegula.
And Gauff has now shared her verdict on the recent attention that the teenager has been attracting, with the American saying: “She seems to be handling it super well.
“There’s ups and downs in the sport, but you realize that the media is there to kind of paint that story and make it more interesting, but that shouldn’t be added pressure or anything like that.
“She seems chill. She seems like she’s working hard, so I don’t have any advice for her just because she seems relaxed.
“The only thing I did tell her was that doubles helped me a lot in that space, having some time on court where it’s a little less stressful. So, I encouraged her to play when she could.”
Coco Gauff explains Italian Open doubles partnership with Alexandra Eala
Eala has enjoyed a huge rise in recent times, with the Philippines star rising to 70th in the WTA Tour rankings.
And while she fell to Marta Kostyuk in her opening match at the Italian Open, she certainly has a bright future ahead.
Gauff has, of course, already been on that journey, although she did manage to win the US Open at the age of 19.
Whether Eala can replicate that success in the near future remains to be seen, with the duo currently focused on their doubles venture in Rome.
Asked how the partnership came about, Gauff said: “She DM’d me on Instagram. She slid in my DMs and asked me to play.
“I was like, ‘sure, why not?’ We really didn’t know each other, honestly, before Madrid. I said hi to her for the first time in Madrid or maybe Miami, we may have briefly said hello.
“I figured she would be nice so I was just hoping she would be, you know? Obviously, she’s such a nice person.
“When there’s people finally my age on tour, I’m glad to interact. For me, it was a good opportunity to play doubles but also have a relaxed vibe with another player.
“I’m super happy to play with her, and obviously she’s a killer in doubles: two junior Slams and probably some future ones too.”
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