IN just their third match together, Alex Eala and Coco Gauff face their toughest challenge yet against the third-seeded home pair with a spot in the women’s doubles semifinals of the 2025 Italian Open on the line.
The match set on Wednesday night (9:10 p.m., Manila time) in Rome will see Gauff and Eala face a seeded pair for the first time in world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini and doubles No. 6 Sara Errani before an expected partisan crowd.
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The 19-year-old Eala, ranked No. 64 in the world, and Gauff, world No. 3, are looking to ride the momentum of their breezy wins in the first two rounds, including a 6–2, 6–3 win over Tyra Grant and Lisa Pigato on Tuesday night.
On the other side of the net, Paolini and Errani are coming off a hard-fought three-set battle against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putinseva, 6–4, 4–6, 10–7.
Gauff should be familiar with Paolini, having faced her three times in singles and winning two of those encounters. However, this will be Gauff’s first match against Errani — a former world No. 1 in doubles and Olympic gold medalist.
Errani is also one of just seven WTA players to achieve a career golden slam in tennis.
Paolini and Errani have been longtime doubles partners, with six titles to their name as a duo — including three prestigious WTA 1000 tournaments. Their most recent triumph came in Doha in February of this year.
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