Mar 23, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alexandra Eala (PHI) serves against Madison Keys (USA)(not pictured) on day six of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.

tennis

The Alexandra Eala Story – From the Rafa Nadal Academy to the Miami Open SF

The World No. 140 from Philippines is the WTA’s newest breakout star.

Mar 23, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alexandra Eala (PHI) serves against Madison Keys (USA)(not pictured) on day six of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.

One week ago, nobody had heard the name Alexandra Eala. A young southpaw from Quezon City in the Philippines, Eala began playing tennis at the tender age of four. Fast forward to 2025, and the 19-year-old beat three Grand Slam champions including World No. 2 Iga Swiatek en route to the semifinals of the 2025 Miami Open.

Eala entered the main draw in Miami as a wildcard. Ranked at No. 140 in the world before this week, not a soul would have anticipated the dream run that we have witnessed at the Sunshine state. It all started when Eala defeated former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in Round-2. Her 7-6(2) 7-5 victory made her the first player from the Philippines to beat a Top-30 star.

If that wasn’t enough to be taken seriously, Eala followed it up with a groundbreaking win over reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the Round of 32. Matching Keys from the back of the court and finding some ridiculous angles, the breakout starlet proved that she is the real deal. After a walkover vs Paula Badosa, she notched a historic win against World No. 2 Swiatek.

Alexandra Eala Carved Her Path Through Rafael Nadal’s Tennis Academy

Alexandra Eala joined the renowned Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca at the age of 12. The Filipino prodigy – whose mother is actually a former Southeast Asian Games medalist in swimming – wanted to take her tennis to the next level. As a student, she graduated from the academy in 2023.

June 2023: Alexandra Eala graduates from the Rafa Nadal Academy next to Iga Swiatek. 👩‍🎓

March 2025: The two are drawn against each other in the Miami Open quarter-final. 🆚#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/AT1xb3lehZ
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) March 25, 2025

Interestingly, it was her Miami quarterfinal opponent Iga Swiatek who stood next to her during the ceremony at the time. Little did the five-time major champion know that Eala would stand in her way of reaching a WTA-1000 semifinal, and eventually beat her. Rafael Nadal himself has personally congratulated ‘Alex’ for her phenomenal week – a true testament to what she has achieved.

Eala’s first Grand Slam junior appearance came at the US Open in 2019. The same year, she was also named the Milo Junior Athlete of the Year. Eala would go on to win one singles major and two doubles majors at the junior level, before making her WTA main draw debut in 2021. In the 2025 Miami Open semifinal, she unfortunately fell short against Jessica Pegula.

Iga Swiatek and Alexandra Eala Go Way Back

Although they had never officially faced each other before Miami 2025, Eala and Swiatek practiced together back in 2021 at Miami Gardens. The very next year, the pair would end up winning the same Grand Slam – while Swiatek captured the women’s singles crown at the 2022 US Open, Eala won the girl’s singles title.

Thanks for the practice @iga_swiatek! 😍

Good luck Alex Eala! 🇵🇭💪🏼@MiamiOpen | @WTA pic.twitter.com/W7o1XDt2NC
— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) March 21, 2021

A late withdrawal from Paula Badosa meant that the Filipino star set up a blockbuster clash against the Polish centre of excellence. Coincidentally Keys and Ostapenko – the two top players whom Eala conquered in Miami – are the same two who denied Swiatek an entry into finals this year (at the Australian Open and Doha respectively).

Despite not making it to the final, Alexandra Eala left the court with every member of the crowd standing and applauding her. Stories like hers are why we love tennis – it is living proof that with hardwork and passion, dreams do turn into reality!

Alexandra Eala

ATP

Iga Swiatek

Miami Open

Rafa Nadal Academy

Rafael Nadal

Tennis

WTA

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.