Alexandra Eala makes Philippines proud with historic Grand Slam breakthrough

NEW YORK: With the Sampaguita, the Philippines’ national flower in her hair, Alexandra Eala carries on her young shoulders the soaring expectations of her people.The 20-year-old, the season’s breakthrough player, ranked 75 in the world, trailed the 14th seed Clara Tauson 1-5 in the third set of their US Open first-round match.

But with the capacity crowd on Grandstand Court behind her Eala dug deep to script a daring comeback.

She closed the 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) win on her fifth match point to become the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam main draw match in the Open Era.

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At the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sunday, Filipino fans packed the Grandstand, using admission rights for ground pass holders to fill the upper tiers.

They lived every minute of the match with their 5 ft 9’ rockstar. Some 236,000 Filipinos reside in the New York City metropolitan area and in the closing stages of the two-hour 36-minute match it appeared like all of them were in the stadium.
“I take so much pride in representing my country,” Eala said in her on-court interaction. “I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here in the US Open… I’m so grateful they made me feel like I’m home.

Eala’s 2025 season has put the Philippines on the global tennis map. She announced her arrival on the world stage at the Miami Open, which she entered as a wildcard, ranked 140 in the world. She beat Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, Paula Badosa and Iga Swiatek en route to the semifinals of the WTA 1000, an electrifying run that catapulted her into the WTA Top 100 for the first time. A couple of months later, she reached her maiden WTA final at Eastbourne.

There was drama at every turn in the first-round clash, with the spectators playing a major role in the contest. The crowd roared at Tauson’s errors, and as Eala fought back in the final set, she drew strength from their energy, rallying them even after unforced errors from her opponent.During the tenth game of the final set, Tauson requested a video review, arguing that Eala’s racket had crossed the net as she put away a volley.

The 20-year-old, whose execution was perfect, didn’t concern herself with the exchange between her opponent and the umpire. She lingered near the baseline, preferring to run through shadow swings.In person, Eala appears younger than her 20 years and slighter than her 5-foot-9 frame suggests. Face scrubbed clean and without a trace of makeup, she tucked her hair behind her ears as she sat down for her post-match media conference.“It comes down to experience,” Eala said of her ability to keep calm in tight situations. “Although I'm at the start of my WTA career, I've played so many matches, and tight matches and tense moments can happen at any level. I've been playing since I was 4. I'm 20 now, so that's 16 years of experience, whether it's at the junior level, 10-and-under level or professional level. I think that mental strength and focus are the keys to come out victorious in those moments.

”Eala now awaits the winner of the first-round match between American qualifier Claire Liu and Spain’s Cristina BucsaEala is joined in the second round by another player from the region, Indonesia’s 23-year-old Janice Tjen who defeated the 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The qualifier faces Briton’s Emma Raducanu in the second round.