Filipina tennister Alex Eala scored the biggest win of her career in the Round of 64 in Miami.
Alex Eala bagged an emphatic upset over former Grand Slam champion and current world no. 25 player Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 64 at the Miami Open, 7-6(2), 7-5, for the biggest win in her young career on Friday (early Saturday morning in Manila).
Eala, 19, was coming off of her first-ever main draw win in Miami after outlasting Katie Volynets in the Round of 128. Riding the coattails of the big win, Eala continued on in her Cinderella run in the WTA tiff.
The Filipina hitter was overcome with emotion when she converted on match point after becoming the first-ever WTA player representing the Philippines to topple a Top 30 player.
Ostapenko previously ranked fifth in the world and is also a former Grand Slam champion after winning the French Open in 2017. She has also had deep runs in the other Grand Slams with quarterfinals appearances in the Australian Open and US Open, most recently in 2023.
Additionally, she is one-half of the reigning pair in the US Open Doubles tournament, having won the competition in 2024 with Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok.
Despite the big win, Eala must now have to brace for even tougher competition as she faces world no. 5 Madison Keys as her matchup for the Round of 32.
Coming off of two big upsets, the 19-year-old hopes to keep things going against her Herculean foe who recently won her first grand slam in the Australian Open earlier this year.