Mar 26, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alex Eala of the Philippines celebrates after her match against Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
READ: LIVE: Alex Eala vs Jessica Pegula – 2025 Miami Open semifinal
Philippine wild card Alex Eala pulled off the biggest win of her young career with a stunning 6-2 7-5 upset of Polish world number two Iga Swiatek on Wednesday to extend her dream run at the Miami Open into the semi-finals.
The big-hitting 19-year-old showed no signs of intimidation playing against one of her idols and was instead a picture of poise as she dismantled Swiatek’s serve early on to grab control of the match and never looked back.
Alex Eala: Philippines’ smash hit on path toward tennis stardom
“I don’t know what to say, I mean, complete just disbelief right now and I am on cloud nine,” Eala, the first woman from the Philippines to reach the last eight of a WTA 1000 tournament, said in her on-court interview.
“It’s forever in my heart.”
Mar 26, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alex Eala (PHL)(R) shakes hands with Iga Swiatek (POL)(L) at the net after their match on day nine of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Swiatek, who was playing the match with added security after being verbally abused by a spectator at the weekend, failed to hold serve throughout the first set while Eala was swinging freely as she unleashed winners from all over the court.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek hit a staggering 19 unforced errors in the opening set and then received some advice from her coach before briefly leaving the court.
In the second set Eala managed to overturn a 4-2 deficit and then held her nerve while Swiatek tried to serve out the set at 5-4 before ultimately closing it out with her eighth break of the match.
READ: Alex Eala gives Filipino tennis hopefuls a reluctant hero
“I’m so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage,” said Eala, who has now beaten three grand slam winners on her route to the last four at Miami — having dealt with Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys before upsetting four-time French Open champion Swiatek.
“I’m trusting my shots and I have a great team to tell me that I can do it,” she said.
FOREVER IN HER HEART 🙌
WATCH: Alex Eala shares her thoughts after pulling off the biggest win of her young career with a stunning 6-2 7-5 upset of Polish world number two Iga Swiatek to extend her dream run at the Miami Open into the semi-finals. | 📹: WTA pic.twitter.com/kbX8RohG5f
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) March 26, 2025
Eala moved to Spain at the age of 13 to join Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca and Toni Nadal, the Spaniard’s uncle and former coach, was in her box for the match.
“It meant a lot that he showed up here. It showed the confidence he had in me and the confidence the academy had in me,” she said.
Up next for Eala is American fourth seed Jessica Pegula, who beat 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain in the other quarterfinals match, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2.
Mar 26, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alexandra Eala (PHL) reacts after winning a point against Iga Swiatek (POL)(not pictured) on day nine of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
“Just because I won this match or the one before doesn’t make the next one any less tough. If anything it will be more tough, so it will take everything that I have,” said Eala.
Swiatek will look forward to moving on to the clay season after conceding that she had been far from her usual level.
“I’m sure I wasn’t playing my best game and I felt like my forehand collapsed a little, so it wasn’t comfortable and Alexandra, for sure, used her chances and pushed me, so for sure she deserves to win this match,” she said.
“I don’t want to think about this too long. It’s nice to learn from losses but there are other things ahead and I am happy we are going to play on clay.”