Eala bows out of Miami Open but what a breakthrough moment

Alexandra Eala’s fairytale run at the Miami Open may be over but what a tournament – and breakthrough moment – it has been for the hugely talented and ambitious teenager.

Eala bowed out in the semi-finals to Jessica Pegula of the United States but not before she has defeated three Grand Slam champions – Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek – in successive matches.

Her victory against five-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 2 Swiatek was the best of her career, while her overall performance in Florida made tennis history for the Philippines.

The 19-year-old, who has previously written a regular blog for itftennis.com, will surge into the world’s Top 100 and assume a career-best world ranking when the WTA Rankings are updated next week.

While this may have been Eala’s breakthrough moment on the WTA Tour, her potential has been no secret. She is a former junior world No. 2 who won the 2022 US Open girls’ singles title, which was particularly special given her grandparents met in New York in the 1980s. 

Eala, who represented her nation at the 2019 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals – for players aged 14 and under, has chalked up five ITF World Tennis Tour titles since clinching her first in January 2021. 

To assist her ongoing development, the teenager is also a four-time recipient of funding through the ITF-operated Grand Slam Player Development Programme, most recently this year.

The ITF travelled to the Rafa Nadal Academy in October 2023 to film Day in the Life: Alexandra Eala. It was a privilege to spend a day with Alex, her father Mike and coach Dani while filming and we really got to know the person behind the player.

Day in the Life: Alexandra Eala has been watched more than 106,000 times in the past 48 hours as the tennis spotlight shines on Alex. Watch the video here.