While singles events do remain a priority, Alexandra Eala has been quite active when it comes to doubles as well. The 20-year-old has been a part of the women’s doubles draw in four of the nine tournaments that she has played this season and had last been in action at the Indian Wells. On the other hand, Eala is well-experienced when it comes to mixed doubles. She has partnered with multiple ATP pros and has been fairly successful. However, when asked about her dream mixed doubles pairing, Eala had a startling name in store.

Eala first took the names of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, which was kind of expected as a rising star like her would want to play alongside the two. However, the Filipino then brought 19-year-old Joao Fonseca into the conversation as well.

“I would love to play mixed doubles with Novak, Alcaraz and I think Joao Fonseca is also a good one. I think he has a great crowd, so that would be great.”

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This was a surprising choice indeed, as unlike Eala, Fonseca hasn’t been very involved with doubles events. The only time he was a part of the men’s doubles draw this year was back at the Rio Open in February. He had formed a pair with Marcelo Melo for the tournament, and the Brazilian duo had gone on to clinch the title with a victory over Robin Haase and Constantin Frantzen in the final.

However, Fonseca has been focused on the singles events since then and has made decent runs at both the Indian Wells and Monte Carlo Masters. Not to mention that mixed doubles will almost be like a brand-new territory for him, as he has only participated in exhibition matches before, rather than ATP Tour or Grand Slam draws

While it is unlikely that he will be forming a mixed doubles pair with Eala anytime soon, it would be a treat for the fans to see them play together.

Both Eala and Fonseca are among the most impressive talents of the new generation. They have managed to cement their place in the top 50 despite their young age and have achieved success in both the singles and doubles events. A pairing between the two can turn out to be quite an exciting and successful one. It remains to be seen if Fonseca will take notice of Eala’s words and team up with her for a mixed doubles event.

Coming back, Eala does have more experience than Fonseca when it comes to mixed doubles events. She hasn’t just played at exhibition events but has also represented the Philippines at the Asian Games.

Alexandra Eala’s history of mixed doubles pairings

Eala had been in mixed doubles action back at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. She had formed a pair with Niño Alcantara, and the duo went on to achieve major success together. They ended up clinching a valuable bronze medal and this was where Eala first made her mark in mixed doubles.

The two decided to run back the clock in 2025 at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games that were held in Bangkok, Thailand. They bagged their second mixed doubles bronze for the Philippines in what was another superb performance.

In addition, Eala had formed a pair with China’s Juncheng “Jerry” Shang in an exhibition game at the Macau Tennis Masters. Though they recorded a 7-5, 7-6 defeat to the duo of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Wu Yibing, it was still a memorable experience for Eala, who had played doubles alongside Jerry as a junior too.

“My very first mixed doubles. It was such a pleasure to share the court with Jerry. We grew up playing juniors together and seeing each other in tournaments, so yeah, it was such a fun experience. I’m open; I love to play mixed doubles. We’ll see. I’m a singles player, but I’ve played mixed doubles in team competitions before, so it’s not something I shy away from,” she had said.

Eala isn’t scheduled to participate in any upcoming doubles event as of now. The 20-year-old is focused on improving her form in the singles draw as she has suffered R16 exits at both the Miami Masters and Linz Open.

Eala will next be in action at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, which will be held in Stuttgart. She has been drawn against Leylah Fernandez in the opening match of the tournament. Will Eala be able to make a deep run this time around, or does another early elimination await her?