Eala-Gauff tandem off to a strong start

Alex Eala and world No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States only needed 59 minutes to breeze past Alexandra Panova of Russia and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-3, 6-1, in the Round of 32 of the Rome Open women's doubles Saturday evening (Manila time) at the Foro Italico.

This is Eala's first win in the Rome Open as she joins forces with Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion.

Meanwhile, Gauff is gunning for a Rome Open women's doubles title after back-to-back heartbreaks in 2023 and 2024.

The Filipino-American tandem wil be facing the winner between the duo of Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Irina Khromacheva of Russia and home bets Tyra Grant and Lisa Pigato.