Alexandra Eala is, without a doubt, the surprise of the Miami Open, and one of the most impressive breakthroughs of 2025, alongside Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva. Aged 19 and World No. 140, the Filipina is already the highest ranked player from WTA Tour history, and will climb much higher on Monday, after reaching the Miami Open semi-finals. To do that, she had to beat World No. 5 and Australian Open winner Madison Keys, and last night, she stunned World No. 2 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5.
No other female player from Philippines had beaten a Top 30 before, and now Eala had beaten two Top 5, and reaches her first WTA semifinals in her senior career (she previously won US Open junior in 2022). Eala, who trained at Rafa Nadal's academy in Mallorca when she was 13, was congratulated by Nadal himself, and has quickly become a star in Philippines, landing magazine covers and multiplying her follower numbers, already becoming a star regardless on what happens next.
Tennis Channel resurfaced a photo of Eala's graduation in 2023, with Swiatek by her side... and now she has eliminated the top player from the WTA Masters 1000, being the first Filipina to reach a WTA semi-final.
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Eala will next face Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Friday. The American eliminated British player Emma Raducanu, who had to take medical treatment mid game due to fever, but leaves Miami having won four games in a row, her best record since the 2021 US Open win.