Filipina tennis star Alex Eala continued her historic run at the Miami Open after defeating World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, to reach the semifinals of the WTA 1000 tournament.
The 19-year-old wildcard became the first player from the Philippines to reach a tour-level semifinal and is now set to enter the Top 100 of the PIF WTA Rankings for the first time in her career.
“I’m in complete disbelief right now, I’m on cloud nine,” a breathless Eala said in her on-court interview.
Eala, ranked No. 140, is only the third wildcard in WTA history to make it to the Miami Open semifinals, following tennis greats Justine Henin and Victoria Azarenka. Her victory over Swiatek marked her third win over a Grand Slam champion in the tournament, after defeating Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys.
“It’s so surreal,” Eala added. “I feel like I’m the exact same person as I was in that photo. But of course, circumstances have changed! I’m so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage … My coach told me to run, to go for every ball, to take all the opportunities I can, because a five-time Slam champion is not going to give you the win.”
Her upset over Swiatek is being called one of the biggest breakthroughs of the Miami Open, as the Polish champion had only lost twice before to players outside the Top 100 in WTA main draws.
Eala’s aggressive playstyle and calm composure made a strong impact throughout the match. She dominated returns and capitalized on Swiatek’s errors, ending the match with a powerful return that forced a backhand miss from the top-seeded player.
“She went all in,” Swiatek said. “She made these returns in and pretty long, and so it wasn’t easy to hit it back. She was pretty loosened up and just went for it.“
Here are WTA Match Highlights between Alexandra Eala and Iga Swiatek at the 2025 Quarterfinal Miami Open:
Eala credited her family for her strong mental game. “I don’t have a lot of experience on the WTA Tour, that’s for sure. But I do have experience with compartmentalizing. I have experience with being professional. I have no hesitation to bring that part of me out when I’m on court and when I’m in a setting that calls for professionalism.“
“It’s not something I learned in the academy,” she said. “It’s something I’ve gotten from, I guess, my experience as the things I have been through leading up to this moment. It’s also something my family has guided me through, and it’s part of my family’s values. They are successful people in business, they are successful in their own fields and people I look up to.“
After making history, the teen athlete admitted being overwhelmed: “I couldn’t decide,” she said. “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. I really tried to soak it all in, because this has never happened to me before.”
Eala next faces No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, as she aims for her first WTA final. Here are the Final Four matchups:
“To win Grand Slams has always been one of the end goals,” said Eala. “To become No. 1 has always been one of the end goals. I think that this result came in the right time. Being a successful junior doesn’t mean that you’re going to be a successful professional. So I made it a point to work hard every day and to trust that my time would come, and hopefully this is the time.”
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