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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Alex Eala slays another giant, stuns world No. 2 Iga Swiatek

Alex Eala slays another giant, stuns world No. 2 Iga Swiatek

Published Mar 26, 2025 07:07 pm

At A Glance

  • Alex Eala continued her improbable, fairy tale run at the 2025 Miami Open after taking out five-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5, to march into the semifinals on Wednesday, March 26 (early Thursday, Philippine time).

The dream lives on.

Alex Eala continued her improbable, fairy tale run at the 2025 Miami Open after taking out five-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5, to march into the semifinals on Wednesday, March 26 (early Thursday, Philippine time).

Alex Eala
Alex Eala slays another giant in world No. 2 Iga Swiatek to advance to the semifinals of the Miami Open. (WTA)

Making the most out of her wildcard berth, the 19-year-old Filipina tennis sensation set the pace early and capitalized on Swiatek’s erratic forehands before holding off to the Polish superstar’s challenge late in the match en route to her biggest career victory to date.

It was Eala’s third consecutive win over a Grand Slam champion, having first beaten 2017 French Open titlist Jelena Ostapenko in the second round and reigning Australian Open winner Madison Keys in the third. She made heads turn after beating world No. 75 Katie Volynets in the first round, then got added rest after a walkover win over injured Paula Badosa.

Eala also became the first Filipina to reach the semifinal of a WTA1000, an event just one rung below the Grand Slam. 

And by making it to the semis, she has also been assured of $332,160 (around P19.1 million) cash earnings. It also made her debut at the WTA Top 100 with a live ranking of No. 75.

“I am in complete disbelief and I’m on cloud nine,” Eala said in a post-match interview.

Prior to the Miami Open, Eala was nowhere to be found in the WTA1000 level events this year. Apart from the Australian Open last January, where she lost the first qualifying round, she saw action at WTA125 and WTA250 events, and a string of International Tennis Federation (ITF) W75 tournaments.

When she was given one of the seven wildcard tickets in Miami, she maximized every opportunity she could.

With Toni Nadal watching from her box, the Rafa Nadal Academy alumna showed she has what it takes to be where she was. She broke Swiatek’s serve eight times and dropped only two, even turning that early break deficit into a first-set win that included love games in the sixth and seventh.

Swiatek, who was struggling with her range and struck 19 unforced errors in the first set alone, managed to rediscover her form in the second frame, turning a 2-0 deficit to a 4-2 lead.

The former world No. 1 even managed to break Eala’s serve for a 5-4 upperhand, but the Filipina showed nerves of steel, breaking back Swiatek before snaring the last two games for the win.

“I’ve been loving the way that I’ve been out there on court and I’m trusting my shots and I have a great team that tell me I can do it,” said Eala in a separate interview.

"I know she has a great serve, so it’s normal that I would miss some, but then, I cannot be afraid to continue what I have to do,” she added.

And she was not done yet.

Up next for Eala will be world No. 4 Jessica Pegula, who overcame 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2, for her third Miami Open semifinal appearance.

The Eala-Pegula duel will be shown live on Blast TV app starting at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, March 28. Its linear simulcast of Premier Sports 2 is available on all platforms including cable; Direct to Home; Blast TV app and connected TV like Samsung TV plus.

Related Tags

Miami Open Alex Eala Jessica Pegula Iga Swiatek
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