“I’ve never been in a major tournament this long, so I’m definitely enjoying that,” said a 19-year-old Alexandra Eala after securing her maiden WTA 1000 QF spot in Miami last week. And we know what transpired next. The Filipino stunned former World No.1 Iga Swiatek to make it to the Round of 4 before her unbelievable run was eventually halted by Jessica Pegula. Although Eala failed to reach the final, she scripted history. A dream run in Miami made her the first-ever woman from the Philippines to be ranked inside the top 100 in the WTA rankings. Imagine taking a giant leap from No.140 to the 75th spot! And now, the rising phenom has earned special admiration from a Swedish ex-ATP pro who believes she’s no less than a gift to the racket sport!
Eala’s sensational campaign saw her topple three former Slam champions in Miami. Her first prey was 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in R64. Eala then ousted this season’s Australian Open winner and World No.5 Madison Keys, beating the American in straight sets with a score line of 6-4, 6-2 in R32.
The teenager received a walkover in the pre-quarterfinals as her R16 opponent Paula Badosa withdrew owing to an injury. Next up, Eala faced the five-time Slam winner Swiatek and in a face-off where no one gave her a chance, the teenager won in straight sets again, eliminating the Pole with a scoreline of 6-2, 7-5.
In an interaction with TNT Sports, dated April 2, former icon and 7-time Slam champion Mats Winder showered praise on Eala. According to him, she’s “someone who has hands given by God.” Elaborating on that further, he added, “She understands the game as good as any player on tour. She reminds me of Marcelo Rios, where the talent is just boiling out of the fingers and boiling out of her hand, and she can do anything. And then the reason I say Marcelo Rios is, of course, she’s left-handed.”
Wilander continued, “In the women’s game, that is so cool that we have someone that comes out that does all these things that maybe (Aryna) Sabalenka and Swiatek are not great at doing. They’re great at other things. But suddenly, we have a player that can play tennis that is mystical to the rest of us. Like, ‘Oh, my God, how do you do that? How do you understand tennis? How do you hit those shots?’”
After getting beaten by Eala in the Miami quarterfinals, Iga Swiatek admitted to having no clue about Eala’s stroke-making skills. She said, “I didn’t know she’s going to play that flat, but besides that, well, she was really aggressive, you know, and she kept her focus. And, like, I don’t know, some of these shots were pretty like out of nowhere.”
Calling Eala a “breath of fresh air,” Wilander further remarked, “I don’t think that she’s going to go away, she’s too smart, her talent is too good, she’s too gifted”. He emphasized how she learned “to win when she was 12, so that’s not a problem. We’re going to love watching her develop into a great player, because I do think that she’s going to become one.”
Eala’s first title win came in 2017 when she won Les Petits As. It was a premier international event for kids aged between 12 and 14. Later, she became the first Filipino to clinch the junior US Open title, in 2022.
With an unforgettable run in Miami, the sky’s the only limit for this teenage sensation. Undoubtedly, she’s ecstatic to have performed to a very high level against the finest of players.