by Alexandra Eala amazed the world No. 2 IGA Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semi-final and to write history for tennis in the Philippines. The Wildcard in teen age defeated an out-of-sorts Swiatek 6-2 with 7: 5 and will now play the fourth seed Jessica Pegula or the British Emma Raducanu for a place in the final.
The Eala of the World No. 140 forwarded in Miami by being the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final. The Wildcard has now hit three Grand Slam Champions on the way to the Final Four. After Eala had previously beaten the incumbent Australian Open Champion Madison Keys and the French Open Open Champion Jelena Ostapenko in 2017, she did not blink when she excluded the five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek in straight sets.
The 19-year-old, who won the Us Open Girls title in 2022, is a graduate of the Rafael Nadal tennis academy in Mallorca, who moved there from the Philippines at the age of 13.
Eala, which had only played two games on the WTA tour before increasing a wildcard to the main draw of the Miami Open, will be moved into the top 100 for the first time. Swiatek had not lost an opponent in four years.
“I don’t know what to say!” Eala said on the pitch in her interview. “I am currently incredulous. I’m currently in Cloud Nine. Many thanks to everyone who has come and thank everyone who looks home.
“It’s so surreal. I am so happy and blessed to fight such a player on such a stage. My trainer told me that I should go for every ball, take every opportunity because a five-time Grand Slam champion will not achieve victory. This is forever in my heart.”
The defeat continues a difficult run for the former world No. 1 Swiatek, which played under increased security protection after being used verbally by a man in Miami in Miami on Saturday. In an explanation of the Swiatek team, it says that the man also sent the five-time Grand Slam winner, who harassed news online.
The Polish player, who was without a title in 2025, went on Instagram after her semi-finals in Indian Wells at the beginning of this month to criticize “unhealthy standards” and “constant judgment”, and said that the last months were “extremely challenging” after her one-month suspension due to a doping violation.
