Philippines’ Alexandra Eala stuns world No. 2 Iga Swiatek to reach Miami Open semi-finals

MIAMI – If tennis’ broadcasters were hoping for emotional scenes of tears from teenager Alexandra Eala after she secured one of the biggest upsets of the WTA season on March 26, they were left disappointed.

But the final point, as she broke the serve of world No. 2 Iga Swiatek for the eighth time in her 6-2, 7-5 Miami Open quarter-final win, revealed much more about the Filipina than any waterworks would have.

Eala’s face quivered, on the verge of tears, as she began to process the magnitude of her victory which sent her into the semi-finals. But the 19-year-old kept her emotions in check, composed herself and celebrated in a controlled manner before calmly and diligently undertaking her post-match duties.

“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 realise what just happened. It’s hard to realise that you won the match,” she explained, when asked about her immediate emotions to beating the five-time Grand Slam winner.

“I really tried to soak it all in, because this has never happened to me before, and that’s why I was looking at the screen. You know, I really wanted to keep that moment in my mind.”

In the biggest game of her career on the WTA Tour, Eala played with a poise that belied her inexperience but underscored an impressive level of preparation for such a moment.

“I don’t have a lot of experience on the WTA Tour, that’s for sure, but I do have experience with compartmentalising. I have experience with being professional,” she added.

“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.”

Indeed, Eala has been in a professional setting since she was 13, when she left her homeland to join Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca.

For the past six years, she has lived and breathed tennis alongside top coaches and a group of players all hoping to make the journey to the tour. But she said her noticeably businesslike approach was gained more from her family rather than the daily regimen in Spain.

“It’s not something I learnt in the academy. It’s something I’ve gotten from, I guess, from my experience as the things I have been through leading up to this moment. It’s also something my family has guided me through, it’s part of my family’s values,” she said.

“They are successful people in business, they are successful in their own fields and people I look up to. I think they lead by example when it comes to that.”

The twin influences on her career were evident in her box – her parents had flown in from the Philippines for the game as had an uncle and cousin based in Seattle, but sat with them was Toni Nadal, the Spanish great’s uncle and former coach, representing the academy.

“So a lot of extra motivation for my match today. I really wanted to have my family see me winning, but I know they’d be happy just to see me compete in this setting,” Eala said.

“And Toni also came in to Miami. That did mean a lot, because I have been working closely with him for so long, alongside my main coaches from the academy.

“It showed a lot about the confidence and the pride the academy has in me.”

There was time still for her to reflect on an old photograph of her meeting Swiatek at a graduation event at the academy in 2023, and to express her hope that her win would inspire youngsters in her homeland to take up the sport.

There have been many teenagers making dramatic entrances into the elite level of the WTA over the years. Some have flourished, some have fallen away quickly, but only few have arrived with such a self-assured professionalism as the 19-year-old from Quezon City.

Up next for her will be American fourth seed Jessica Pegula, who beat 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 in the last quarter-final. AFP, REUTERS