19-year-old Alex Eala made her fellow Filipinos proud with a streak of historical victories at the 2025 Miami Open.
Everyone in the sporting community and beyond is talking about tennis player Alexandra “Alex” Eala, and for good reason. At only 19 years old, she’s the first Filipina semifinalist of the Women’s Tennis Association. This comes hot on the heels of beating not one, but three Grand Slam champions—Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia), Madison Keys (United States), and Iga Świątek (Poland)—in the 2025 Miami Open. Even more impressive is the fact that Świątek ranks number two in the world (formerly number one with 22 career titles), while Ostapenko ranks fifth.
Eala is the first Filipino to achieve this streak of stunning wins. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the fact that she’s a wildcard—a player who wouldn’t normally be qualified to join the Miami Open with her current ranking of 140 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), but was chosen to bypass standard protocol (along with other wildcard players) at the discretion of the tournament committee.
She’s managed to surprise both fans and spectators, equaling the best result achieved by a wildcard at the Miami Open since its inception in 1985, according to the WTA. To rephrase, she’s the third wildcard semifinalist in the history of the tournament since Justine Henin (2010) and Victoria Azarenka (2018)—yet another achievement under her belt.
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A Captivating Run
Eala’s streak of historical victories ended after a thrilling match against Jessica Pegula (United States), who ranks fourth in the world. The three-set match on Friday saw Pegula scoring 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, securing a spot in the final.
While Eala lost, she by no means gave an easy battle. “I’m so tired. So, so tired,” Pegula expressed in an interview, as reported by Inquirer.Net. “She [Eala] is really good. Goes for her shots, takes the ball early. Being a lefty is always tricky, competes really well. She’s beaten a lot of top players this week.”
”Of course, I’m disappointed,’’ Eala later states in a Mixed Zone interview, according to Miami Open’s official website. “But there’s 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.”
She adds: “The match I played was amazing and she 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.”
Eala still emerges victorious, her live ranking at the WTA shooting from 140 to 75. With the wins set in the 2025 Miami Open, she’s poised to make it to the top 100 rankings regardless.
Just The Beginning
Eala not only gained the admiration of her nation, but also that of the world’s greats. “We are extremely proud of you, Alex,” writes 22-Grand Slam title holder Rafael Nadal in an X post. “Let’s keep dreaming!” Ealas’s alma mater, the Rafa Nadal Academy, also tweeted a video of her legendary match against Świątek with the caption: “We can’t stop crying.”
Another tennis icon, 18-Grand Slam title holder Chris Evert also took notice of the star player. “Incredible that Alex Eala still has anything left in her considering the teen has beaten 3 Grand Slam Champs..” she writes in an X post after Eala’s match with Pegula. The official Facebook of Wimbledon also recognized Eala’s record-breaking victories in a post.
Eala’s campaign in Miami is rewarding her with earnings of at least $332,160 (roughly ₱19 million), though she may possibly gain more depending on the earnings of the finalist and champion. It’s far from the end for the tennis talent, as her Miami Open streak marks the beginning of a promising career, with invites to Grand Slam tournaments Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open being highly likely.
