MIAMI/WASHINGTON, March 19, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
A year ago, at the Miami Open presented by Itau, Alexandra Eala began to make a name for herself in professional tennis. As a 19-year-old from Quezon City in the Philippines, her Cinderella run to the semifinals of the WTA 1000 event in South Florida made clear she had brought a nation with her each time she walked out on court.
The stands at the Hard Rock Stadium complex wherever she played – from the big Stadium court to the grandstand and outer courts – were full of Filipino fans waving flags of her home nation in support of the 140th-ranked wild card through her remarkable six-round journey, one that was filled with joy and gratitude.
In short order, Eala scored a series of impressive straight-set victories over three Grand Slam champion opponents – 2017 French open champion Jelena Ostapenko, 2025 Australian Open titlist Madison Keys, and six-time major champion Iga Swiatek – to reach the semifinal round.
New chapter unlocked 🔓
Alexandra Eala continues her hot streak and reaches the semis! pic.twitter.com/7iSki8DA0v
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 26, 2025
Eala, a fresh and relentless teenager from an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia with more than 7,600 islands and 115 million inhabitants could not be stopped. Her diaspora of fans from Manila to Miami followed her results with great anticipation and enthusiasm regardless of what time of day she was on court playing. She would often speak in her native Tagalog language in addressing the crowd after her victories. She’s also fluent in English and Spanish.
When Eala secured match point against the World No. 2 Swiatek on the Stadium court, which gave her a 6-2, 7-5 quarterfinal victory in an hour and 39 minutes, Eala stood frozen – absorbing the significance of the moment.
As the shock of upsetting Swiatek began to sink in, Eala didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So, her reaction was a mixture of both emotions.
“I think I was so in the moment, and I made it a point to be in the moment every point that it’s hard to realize what just happened. It’s hard to realize that you won the match,” Eala recalled during her post-match news conference following the Swiatek triumph last year.
“I really tried to soak it all in, because this has never happened to me before, and that’s why I was looking at the screen. You know, I really wanted to keep that moment in my mind.”
It was then that Eala, who won the 2022 US Open junior girls’ title, knew she had truly arrived big time.
SHE’S ONLY GONE AND DONE IT!!!!!!!! 🇵🇭
Filipino wildcard Alexandra Eala stuns World No. 2 Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 to reach the last 4 in Miami!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/xn1zNpck10
— wta (@WTA) March 26, 2025
As if Eala needed any additional motivation against Swiatek, her parents were in her box, having flown in from the Philippines, and an uncle and cousin flew down from Seattle, Wash., too. Plus, from her days of training at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Manacor, Spain, Uncle Toni Nadal witnessed her victory over Swiatek, too. Not lost was the fact that Swiatek had attended Eala’s graduation at the academy a couple of years earlier and posed for a photo together.
“I really wanted them to see me winning,” Eala said at the time.
Tennis is a beautiful sport. 🎾
Just two years ago, Iga Swiatek who is publicly one of the players that admires Rafa Nadal attended the high school graduation ceremony of Rafa Nadal Academy where Alex Eala graduated.
Photo from Rafa Nadal Academy IG pic.twitter.com/IjGbuZhnjG
— Dyan Castillejo (@DYANCASTILLEJO) March 25, 2025
What did Eala think of playing in a large, 13,000-seat temporary venue inside Hard Rock Stadium? “I really tried to just focus on the court and feel like nobody else was there,” she said.
One reporter described Eala’s play as “a precocious display of aggression and thoughtfulness,” and wrote that Eala “went for winners whenever she could, while mixing in just enough stylish drop shots and resilient defense to show that she was focused on every point, as she knew she needed to be.”
The left-handed-hitting Eala finally met her match in Miami a few days later against Jessica Pegula, but not before pushing the Top-10 American to three tough sets, losing 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3.
Afterwards, Pegula gave props to Eala during her post-match news conference. “She reminds me of a Leylah Fernandez,” she said. “Takes the ball super early, uses the angles really well, uses the line forehand really well, and competes and sees the court.
“She definitely takes the ball early, anticipates well, looks to move in. Yeah, all those things are going to take her far.”
“It was so amazing to play with you” said 19-year-old Alexandra Eala to 31-year-old Jessica Pegula at the net
“You too. Good luck.” answered Pegula after her tough 3-set victory put her into the #MiamiOpen final https://t.co/eyB7nGAzcK
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) March 28, 2025
Since the WTA rankings began in 1975, Eala has been responsible for all of her country’s biggest wins on the tennis court. It became evident after Eala defeated Swiatek, something special was beginning to develop. Thanks to Eala, the WTA established a 125-series tournament in Manila to take advantage of her popularity at home.
“I would love to think that I make a difference. You know, that’s the only thing I can do to give back to my country is to help inspire, to inspire change and positive change, to inspire people to pick up a racquet, to watch more tennis, watch more women’s tennis,” said Eala, who went on to compile a 40-26 win-loss record in all competitions in 2025 and finished 2025 ranked No. 53.
Last summer, Eala was a finalist on grass at Eastbourne, England and won a WTA 125 event in Guadalajara, Mexico on a hard court in September. This year, she’s 12-7 in all competitions, including a semifinal run in Auckland on a hard court in January and two quarterfinal finishes on hard courts, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, last month. Hard courts are where she has excelled since turning professional in 2020.
Now 20, Eala achieved a career-high WTA singles ranking of World No. 29 this week, making her the highest-ranked Filipina in WTA Tour history. She’s the first Filipina to break into the WTA Top 30 as well as to have multiple wins over Top-10 players and to reach a tour-level final in the Open Era.
YOU MADE US PROUD, ALEX! 🎾✨
Dream run ends. Alexandra Eala falls to Jessica Pegula, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, in the semifinals of the 2025 Miami Open. pic.twitter.com/6lbTo1cjBu
— Manila Bulletin News (@manilabulletin) March 28, 2025
At the recent BNP Paribas Open, Eala reached the round of 16 before losing to World No. 14 Linda Noskova. Earlier, in the California palm desert, she advanced over World No. 4 Coco Gauff by retirement after winning the first set 6-2 and leading 2-0 in the second set.
“Speaking from my experience, tennis has grown so much in my country, right, and I think that that really adds to the fact that they come and they support me, because tennis is so popular now. So people are developing genuine interest in the sport,” Eala said during one of her news conferences earlier this month in Indian Wells.
Now, Eala returns to the Miami Open seeded No. 31. She will open against 38-year-old Laura Siegemund of Germany, ranked 53rd, Thursday in the opening match on the stadium court. It’s likely that in order to accommodate her fandom and the demands of ticket holders, all of her matches – like those of Brazil’s teenaged sensation Joao Fonseca, who also has a big legion of fans – will be scheduled on the stadium court inside Hard Rock Stadium for as long as she remains in the draw. A potential second-round opponent, if she beats Siegemund today, could be the second-seeded Swiatek.
Looking back at her dream run at the Miami Open in 2025, Eala said: “I think that Miami run was really big. It was my biggest result, and I think that that was kind of the spark that lit the fire. I learned so much from that week, and I’ll always remember it as that.
“But there are so many things that have happened in between then and now that have added to how I have grown as a player and as a person, and I think one of the biggest things is maturity, experience, being able to surround myself consistently with this high of a level of tennis players, and this high of a level of competition pushes me to be better.
“So I’m trying to find my limits and go past that, yeah.”
