World number 140 Alexandra Eala made a major breakthrough this week at the Miami Open by beating three former Grand Slam champions and two top 5 players. The Asian player is the third wild card to beat three Grand Slam champions in the same tournament.
She received a wildcard entry at this year’s edition of the Miami Open where she defeated Katie Volynets and 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round for the first time at the WTA 1000 level. Eala then upset 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys to reach the fourth round at a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time, achieving her first win against a top 5 player. She became the first player from the Philippines to beat a top 10 player. She reached her first WTA 1000 quarter final after receiving a walkover from Paula Badosa. She beat world number 2 Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the quarter final to become the first player from the Philippines to reach the semifinal at a WTA Tour event. She also became the first player from her country to make the debut in the top 100.
Eala has equalled the best result by a wild card at the Miami Open in 1985.
“From the very beginning I knew that I had the level to stick with Iga Swiatek. She is very decorated. She has achieved a lot and is someone that I have looked up to for a while. I am in a complete disbelief, on cloud nine. I call this moment surreal”, said Eala.
Jessica Pegula battled past rising star Alexandra Eala 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 6-3 on Thursday evening after 2 hours and 26 minutes in hard-fought semifinal match to reach the final at the Miami Open. Pegula has reached her fifth final on North American soil since August 2024 following Toronto, Cincinnati, US Open and Atlanta. She has reached the 19thfinal of her career and the sixth at Masters 1000. She had lost in two semifinals in Miami against Iga Swiatek in 2022 and Elena Rybakina in 2024.
Pegula praised Eala after the hard-fought semifinal match.
“I’m so tired. She’s really good. She’s a really good tennis player, goes for her shots, takes the ball early and competes really well, she’s beaten a lot of top players this week. I don’t think she needs me to tell her that she’s a great player, that we’re not going to see enough of her, we definitely are, and she proved that tonight”, said Pegula.
Despite the defeat against Pegula the Miami crowd cheered on Eala after her memorable week.
“To have a week like this, the stars need to align and they did this week. Hopefully I can keep that up. That is my goal now, to keep this up. But there are so many times in tennis where you have to dig out the dirt to look for the positive and now I’m enjoying it because there’s so much positive around me and I don’t know how many times that has happened, so I’m just lucky to have been able to experience these two weeks. The match I played was amazing and Pegula played amazing. I definitely had my chances and I definitely have things that I could’ve done better, but I literally gave everything I had. As you see, I’m taped up like a mummy. I did everything and I have no regrets”.
Eala’s mother Rosemarie “Rizza” Maniego Eala won the bronze medal in the 100 metres backstroke at the South East Asian Games. She is the niece of Philippine Sports Commission chairperson and former Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Noli Eala.
Alexandra was born on 23rd March 2005 in Quezon City. She was introduced to tennis at an early age and caught the attention of international scouts by the age of 12.
Eala has joined the Rafael Nadal Academy in Manacor since she was 12 years old. She started training under the guidance of elite coaches and developed an aggressive baseline style and a left-handed forehand.
She became the first player from the Philippines to win a junior Grand Slam singles title at the 2022 US Open after beating Mirra Andreeva in the quarter final. She also won the girls’ doubles titles at the 2021 French Open and 2020 Australian Open.
She climbed the WTA Rankings by winning ITF Women’s Circuit titles. She won her first professional singles title in 2021 when she claimed the title at the WTA 25 tournament in Manacor. She made her debut on the WTA Tour in Cluji Napoca in 2021 after receiving a wild card. She beat Paula Ormaechea before losing to Mayar Sherif. Earlier that year she received a wild card into the qualifying round of the Miami Open, where she lost to Viktoria Kuzmova in the first round.
