By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, March 23, 2025
World No. 140 Alexandra Eala shocked Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2 to make history as the first Filipino to defeat a WTA Grand Slam champion in the Open Era.
Photo credit: Al Bello/Getty
Hurling her body into another crackling forehand, Alexandra Eala was all in with the dream in reach.
The 19-year-old Eala realized it with one final backhand return.
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A dynamic Eala shocked Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2 making history as the first Filipino woman to beat a Grand Slam champion in Open Era history at the Miami Open.
"It's a big thing to take in, and I feel it's important for me to take it in step by step," Eala told the media in Miami. "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. I think my reaction on court, you know, sums up pretty much how I feel about it."
When Keys’ final forehand sailed wide, an ecstatic Eala seemed on the verge of tears as she shut her eyes tightly before cracking teh wide smile of a winner and erupting in a loud “Vamos!”.
Eala had cause for screaming celebration.
The 140th-ranked wild card is the first Filipina to defeat a Top 10 player in a seismic and historic victory for Filipino tennis. Eala joins Naomi Osaka and Zheng Qinwen as the third Asian teenager to defeat a Grand Slam champion in the past decade.
“I’m just in disbelief,” Eala told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj afterward. “I knew I could win from the start, but the chances were low given that she’s a great player.
“I think my belief and the trust I had in myself is what pushed me through.”
It certainly wasn't a vintage Keys performance. The former US Open finalist betrayed her own cause committing 51 unforced errors, including 33 from her signature shot, the forehand.
On a sticky late afternoon Sunday, Eala worked the width of the court more effectively.
At times, Keys seemed to struggle finding the right spacing between her body and the ball with Eala's lefty spin sometimes hugging her hip.
Competing with the fire and desire that recalls one of her tennis heroes—King of Clay Rafael Nadal—Eala exuded empowering self belief from the start. Eala has trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca for the past seven years, calling the tennis education she’s received there “astronomical” in her development—and explaining why she celebrated today’s monumental win in Spanish.
"It's just a massive deal for me personally," Eala told Tennis Channel's Prakash Amritraj. "It's a big job. I've worked really hard this past couple of months, and I know that I have the level so to be able to perform is really fulfilling for me.
"But of course, the work's not yet done. You know, I am almost thinking about the next match already."
The left-hander lit up Grandstand Court roaring through eight of the first nine points for a 2-0 lead today.
The fifth-seeded Keys began to find her range and rhythm as she leveled the opening set at 4-all.
The 5’9” Eala uses her legs effectively on her groundstrokes. At times she squatted low, Agniezska Radwanska-style, to repel some of Keys’ flat blasts. Eala’s lefty topspin forehand feeds into Keys’ weaker backhand wing and she used that shot to spread the court.
Straddling the baseline against the American’s heavy strikes, Eala fended off break point holding for 5-4.
Asserting angle and depth, Eala broke to snatch a one-set lead then left Grandstand for a break.
The second set was deadlocked at 2-all when Eala opened it up reeling off the final four games to close in 87 minutes.
Eala won 64 percent of the points played on Keys’ second serve and converted six of 13 break points.
Impressively, Eala played proactive tennis against one of the game’s premier power players and showed deep desire rather than jitters at closing time.
It’s been a career-changing tournament for Eala, who rallied from 0-4 down to defeat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-6, 7-5 in round two. Eala, who was 0-4 vs. Top 40-ranked opponents prior to this Miami Open has now knocked off successive major champions in No. 25 Ostapenko and No. 5 Keys.
Backing up a gritty win with a brilliant performance is a profound step forward for Eala, who said she’s delivered this level of tennis in practice but sometimes struggled to bring it to the match court in successive matches.
“There have been many times where I had a good win for my career and then not so great the match after,” Eala said. “So I tried not to think about it too much, you know. It’s just another match.
“There have been many times where I would have been able to play a big player like Madison or Ostapenko, but I couldn’t because I lost the round before. And now looking back when you connect the dots going backward, I feel it’s because I wasn’t ready at the time.
“It's kind of God saying I wasn't ready. And now I have to believe that I am, because I've been given this opportunity, I’ve worked for the opportunity, and I have to take advantage of what I have."
The wild card will try to sustain this wild ride when she takes on Paula Badosa in the fourth round. Badosa overcame a back issue beating Clara Tauson 6-3, 7-6.
"I definitely think it's going to be a tough match," Eala said. "Paula has been on the scene for a long time, so she's very experienced, very good.
"As for the back thing, I won't comment on that. I'm going to go in tomorrow with all the intention that I had today and the matches before."
The winner of the Badosa-Eala match will face either world No. 2 Iga Swiatek or veteran Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.