MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Alexandra Eala advanced to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal at the Miami Open after Spanish star Paula Badosa withdrew from their scheduled match on Tuesday (PHL time) due to a lower back injury.
The 19-year-old Filipina, who stunned reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys on Sunday, is set to face world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the final eight.
“Not the way I would want to move on to my first WTA1000 QF. I wish Paula a speedy recovery,” Eala wrote in an Instagram story after the announcement.
Eala made history by becoming the first Filipina to defeat a top-10 opponent since the women’s tennis ranking system was introduced five decades ago.
Her emotionally charged win over Keys, celebrated with a tearful embrace of her team, marked a breakthrough in what many see as the start of her rise on the global stage.
“It’s a big thing to take in, and I feel it’s important for me to take it in step by step,” she said. “I’m so super proud of what I was able to accomplish, but it definitely fuels me more.”
“I know and it’s in my mind that I have a next match, but I need to stop, and I need to recognize that what I did today was really amazing,” she added. “I think my reaction on court, you know, sums up pretty much how I feel about it.”
Born and raised in the Philippines, Eala’s tennis journey began with her grandfather, a club player who once coached her older brother and cousins.
“I was kind of the next in line to do that and to spend time with him,” she said. “It eventually blossomed into the career I have now.”
At 13, Eala left home for Spain to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, where her game matured under elite coaching.
“The academy has been my home for the past seven years,” she said. “Of course, my family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there.”
She acknowledged the pivotal role of her upbringing and training abroad in preparing her for moments like the Miami Open.
“The academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I’m able to be where I am now,” Eala said. “The combination of everything that I’ve been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities.”
Her brother Miko also enrolled at the academy, easing her family’s decision to send her to Europe at a young age.
“It was definitely a big decision for me, for us,” she said. “As soon as I heard that, I jumped at the opportunity because I knew that I had to get out of the country eventually to improve.”
Eala’s breakthrough came just a day after fellow Nadal Academy player Coleman Wong of Hong Kong pulled off an upset of his own against American 13th seed Ben Shelton.
“I’m super happy for him and to see someone that I’ve known for so long do so well is definitely an inspiration,” Eala said. “Not just to me, but I feel in general a lot of people can take inspiration from him.”
Though already viewed as a rising star in Philippine sports, Eala is hesitant about embracing the role of a national symbol.
“The young kids, the youth in the Philippines, they don’t need to take inspiration from me,” she said. “They can take inspiration from anyone they want.”
