March 6, 2026Updated March 7, 2026, 8:09 a.m. PT
The 20-year-old rising star who has taken the tennis world by storm and introduced tons of Filipino tennis followers along with her, had a win for the ages in the wee hours of Friday evening in the second spherical of the BNP Paribas Open.
Playing as a seeded participant for the primary time in her profession, Eala pulled out a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win over Dayana Yastremska of the Ukraine. The match lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes and completed at 11:55 p.m.
Eala, in entrance of a packed Stadium 3 crowd (when the match began no less than), survived regardless of Yastremska serving for the match up 5-4 in the third. Eala broke her opponent after which received the following two video games for the dramatic win.
“It means the world to have this community behind me in such a prestigious tournament. For them to make the effort to stay up late and stay in the cold and cheer me on, so it really added to the feelings and the emotions after the match, yeah,” Eala stated.
Seeded thirty first, subsequent up for Eala is a showcase matchup with No. 4 Coco Gauff on Sunday. Prediction: That match will not be on Stadium 3.
Coco Gauff rallies for straight-set win
Coco Gauff escaped a decent first match at Indian Wells on Friday. The fourth-seeded tennis star got here from down a double beak in the second set to drive a tiebreaker and subsequently beat Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-3-7-6(3) on Stadium Court.
The top-seeded American on the BNP Paribas Open, Gauff, who’ll flip 22 on March 13, trailed the Russian-born Uzbekistani qualifier 2-5 in the second set. Gauff saved a set level and ultimately labored her method again into the set to drive the tiebreak.
Gauff has now reached the third spherical at Indian Wells in all six appearances.
Sabalenka rolls in first match since engagement
The world’s No. 1 girls’s participant, Aryna Sabalenka, did not take lengthy to dismiss qualifier Himeno Sakatsume 6-4, 6-2 on Friday and through the match she wore her now-famous 12 karat engagement ring.
Sabalenka’s engagement to boyfriend of two years Georgios Frangulis, a Brazilian businessman and the founding father of the açaí chain Oakberry, started with Franguilis’s proposal on March 3.
Why did he suggest in, of all locations, Indian Wells?
“It’s tennis paradise,” she stated, smiling. “Sounds just beautiful.”
Sabalenka will return to the court docket Sunday to face Jaqueline Cristian.
Osaka cruises, too
Naomi Osaka, who broke by way of and received Indian Wells in 2018, seemed crisp in her first match at Indian Wells. She rolled to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra.
The match was Osaka’s first since she withdrew from the third spherical of the Australian Open because of damage. She wore a yellow and black leopard patterned Nike outfit that modified colours barely, relying on the sunshine.
Osaka will subsequent face Camila Osorio of Columbia, who upset rising star Iva Jovic on Friday.
Anisimova avoids gigantic upset
American Amanda Anismova overcame a disastrous first set to win in the nightcap match on Stadium Court on Friday.
Her 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win over Anna Blinkova of Russia means she’ll now face Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu on Sunday.
Anisimova, the sixth seed in the draw, misplaced the primary set 7-5 after which received 12 of the following 13 video games to silence any doubters concerning the match.
The 24-year-old is coming off one of the best 12 months of her profession. She has reached no less than the quarterfinals of the final three Grand Slams and reached the ultimate final 12 months at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
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