Coco Gauff made the three Americans who reached the semifinals of the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Championships on Thursday, joining Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula in the final four, where she will meet Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on Friday for a place in Saturday’s final.
Ultimately, I think there is certainly still a gap in terms of level between me and Coco and other players of her caliber. My job is to bridge that gap, and I think I’m doing a pretty good job of it. So I’ll keep working on it and hopefully it will be a bit tighter next time. Alexandra Eala
Gauff put in a dominant performance against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, silencing the normally raucous crowd who followed the 20-year-old with loud enthusiasm, beating her 6-0 6-2 and wrapping up the match in an hour and seven minutes to get herself within 2 wins of a 4th WTA 1000 title.
“I know you were mainly supporting Alex, but it’s great to be on a crowded field,” Gauff told the fans afterwards. “I played this tournament [for] many years and to see this stadium full means a lot. Sometimes it’s difficult when you play against a ‘home crowd’, but I think it’s great for the sport, so stay enthusiastic and support your player.”
The 21-year-old American has had a tough road to date and many would have written off her chances, but she produced a masterclass of a performance that gave Eala few chances to get into the match.
However, Gauff has a habit of winning tough matches even when she isn’t playing at her best, though her serve is still a work in progress.
She produced 16 double faults against Elise Mertens in the Last 16 and scored a total of 36 this week, the most of any player.
After crashing out in the first round of the Qatar Open against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, she had to save three match points to escape the third round in Dubai, but a rejuvenated Gauff raced past Eala to score her first victory over the Filipino at tour level, and has advanced to her second semi-final in Dubai.
“Every game I got better,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I certainly wasn’t in a good mood before entering this tournament, but you know, one match can change everything. I honestly didn’t think I would be in the semi-finals at the beginning of this tournament, but I’m happy to be here.”
Three Americans will therefore appear in the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event for only the third time since the format’s introduction in 2009, although Pegula, Anisimova and Emma Navarro achieved the feat at the Canadian Open during the 2024 season.
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Her match with Eala was the third quarter-final of the day, following the three-set victories of her compatriots Pegula and Anisimova, with the former beating Denmark’s Clara Tauson, the 12th seed, to advance, while the latter dethroned the defending champion, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who also went the full distance.
On Thursday night, Gauff pounced on the 21-year-old Filipina from the start, broke in the opening match, consolidated for 2-0 and never looked back, dominating throughout.
“I could have served a little better, but I came in when it mattered,” Gauff said afterwards. “Alex is a tough competitor. Even when I was awake I knew she could come back at any moment, I’ve seen her do it before.”
She quickly won all six games in the first set and the first ten games of the match before Eala finally stepped out of the headlights and onto the board, but it was too little, too late.
The American was able to swing more freely than in recent weeks, which all too often resulted in her unreliable service. Although her throw was not perfect, coughing up eight double faults, it was a marked improvement over her third-round exit with Mertens.
Gauff was able to do significant damage especially with her first serve, landing 54% of her first serves, a jump of 12% from the previous round.
She also won 77% of those points, and that efficiency helped her win a total of 60% of her service points, compared to just 50% against Mertens.
Eala, meanwhile, struggled mightily, posting 57% of her first serves but winning only 30% of those points.
Gauff also dramatically reduced the errors from her previous match, repeatedly turning to the forehand in the big moments, while Eala never found the shot in her normally impressive arsenal.
Eala’s failures on that wing culminated in a final error on the final point of the match, and she finished with just 8 winners from 33 unforced errors, while Gauff hit 15 winners from her 19 unforced errors.
Gauff next takes on Elina Svitolina and they are tied at 2-2 against each other. The Ukrainian recently defeated the American in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
20-year-old Alexandra Eala could find few answers against Coco Gauff on Thursday evening in front of a packed center court with mainly Filipino fans
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Meanwhile, Eala’s time in Dubai was coming to an end, but it was a memorable week for the Filipina, who reached the second WTA 1000 quarter-final of her young career and showed she still has room to grow.
“Obviously, I think the gap between us was quite big,” said Eala, who is expected to rise to world No. 32 in the WTA rankings on Monday. “That doesn’t mean I’m so far out of reach for these players. The score says a lot, but I don’t think I’m that disappointed. I’m keeping my head up. I feel good about the whole week and how I did. So the biggest takeaway for me, honestly, is that I’m on the right track.”
“At the end of the day, I think there is definitely still a gap in terms of level between me and Coco and other players of her caliber,” Eala added. “My job is to try to close that gap, and I think I’m doing a pretty good job of that. So I’ll keep working on it and hopefully next time it will be a little tighter.”
Seventh seed Elina Svitolina trailed by a set and a break against lucky loser Antonia Ruzic, but managed to reach the semi-finals against Coco Gauff in Dubai on Friday
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In the final quarter-final of the evening, Svitolina rallied from a set down to beat lucky loser Antonia Ruzic from Croatia, 3-6 6-2 6-3, in just over 2 hours to reach her 5th semi-final in Dubai, and achieve her 23rd match victory at the event, surpassing Caroline Wozniacki for the most all-time.
However, the Ukrainian had to withstand a spirited challenge from Ruzic, who, after being handed a spot in the main draw amid a wave of withdrawals, made the most of her second chance, rising from her current position of 67 to number 51 in the live rankings.
“Antonia played unbelievable, to be honest,” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “I really had to step up my game. I had to bring something extra tonight and I’m very happy with the way I was able to bounce back in the second set. And to win it in three sets gives me a lot of confidence.”
Ruzic, who made the main draw after Elisabetta Cocciaretto’s last-minute withdrawal, upset Emma Raducanu in three sets and then advanced to make the Last 8 when top seed Elena Rybakina withdrew early in the third set due to leg pain and fatigue.
Svitolina spent much of the opening set under duress, while Ruzic fired forehand winner after forehand winner, generating 9 break points on the Ukrainian’s serve.
The 23-year-old Croat converted just two, but it was enough to take the early one-set lead, before Svitolina showed her first signs of life, breaking for 3-1 in the second, only for Ruzic to break straight back for 3-2 and keep the pressure on.
From that moment on, however, Svitolina took full control, the two-time Dubai champion won the last three games of the set, and she did not face another break point for the remainder of the match.
After a few missed chances earlier in the decider, Svitolina converted a break to take a 4-2 lead, and as they say, the rest is history.
Antonia Ruzic made the most of her second chance in Dubai and will see her ranking rise to around number 51 on Monday after reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament
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The former WTA No. 3 later revealed the keys to her turnaround.
“Honestly, I was just trying to be as precise and quick as possible with my footwork,” she told reporters. “I think I was a bit late in almost every rally in the first set, while Antonia [Ruzic]credit where it’s due, incredibly played.
“I really had to dig deep; I had to add a little more to my game tonight. And I’m really happy that I came back in the second set and ended up winning the match in three sets. I was impressed with the way she hit the ball. I think we were both in the same situation; we had never faced each other before, but I was really impressed with the way she hit the ball.”
I think the background suits her very well. I had to give everything, find my rhythm and make a few small adjustments to ultimately win this match.”
The 31-year-old from Ukraine saved 11 of the 14 break points she faced and scored 5 service breaks against Ruzic.
“Yes, for sure. I have great memories. I won here twice and was in the top 10 for the first time. And now that I am coming back to this special place, it is a very special feeling for me,” said Svitolina, two-time Dubai champion, who won the title in 2017 and 2018. “I am very happy to be here in the semi-finals again.”
The win sends Svitolina to the 13th WTA 1000 semi-final of her career, while giving her a 14th win of the season, which puts her atop the tour’s wins chart so far in 2026.
Svitolina is no doubt thinking about her most recent match against Gauff, 24 days ago, a 6-1 6-2 defeat in Melbourne.
“Yes, Elina for me in Australia, I just put that behind me [me]Gauff said at her press conference. “I felt like, yeah, she played well that game, she definitely did, but I also feel like I beat myself up a little bit that game.
“I think it was a combination of both. Yeah, it’s not easy. Kudos to her. I can learn from that if I start the match maybe slow, how to combat that.”
Prior to the 2026 AO, Gauff and Svitolina’s most recent match was at the 2024 US Open, where the American came back from a set down in the Last 32 to win, 3-6 6-3 6-3.
They met earlier that season in the Auckland final, which Gauff also won in 3 sets, while their first meeting of 2021 came at the Australian Open, where the Ukrainian won 6-4 6-3.
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