Alex Eala and Janice Tjen—a.k.a. the SEAsters—succumbed to Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals of the WTA 500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Friday at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre.
SEAsters Outclassed
The opening set was tightly contested early, with both pairs trading service holds through the start.
Eala and Tjen generated break-point opportunities midway through the frame but failed to convert, allowing Mihalikova and Nicholls to seize the lone break in the 10th game to claim the set.
Momentum shifted firmly in favor of the fourth seeds in the second set as they raced to a 3-0 lead behind aggressive net play and sharper execution in key moments. Eala and Tjen fought to stay within reach, managing to hold serve and trim the deficit briefly, but they were unable to recover the early break as Mihalikova and Nicholls steadily closed out the match in one hour and 16 minutes.
SEAsters Still Leave After Making History
Despite the loss, Eala and Tjen will leave Abu Dhabi as the first Southeast Asian duo to reach the semifinals of a WTA 500 event in their first tournament together.
The defeat halted what had been a breakthrough campaign for the Filipina–Indonesian pairing, who earlier stunned second seeds Zhang Shuai and Cristina Bucsa in the quarterfinals.
Prior to that, Eala and Tjen beat the tandem of Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic during the Round of 16.
The SEAsters’ chemistry and fighting spirit throughout the week drew attention across the region and hinted at future partnerships on the WTA Tour.
Alex Eala Next Tournament
Eala now turns her focus to the next leg of her Middle East swing—the WTA 1000 Qatar Open in Doha from February 8 to 14—where she is set to compete in the singles main draw alongside several of the world’s top-ranked players.
