LONDON — Sixteen months after announcing herself to the tennis world with a shock upset of Iga Swiatek in the 2025 Miami fourth round, Alexandra Eala reprised the result on Centre Court for her biggest victory on the Grand Slam stage so far.
The No. 29 seed dethroned defending champion Swiatek, the No. 3 seed, 7-6(9), 6-2 after saving two set points in a riveting 1-hour, 24-minute opening set to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time. Eala, already the first Filipina in history to reach the third-round stage of any major, now becomes the first to make the second week of a Slam.
Eala’s 6-2, 7-5 defeat of Swiatek last year catapulted her into stardom, particularly in her home country as a trailblazer in the sport. Since then, she’s reached one tour-level final at Eastbourne last year on grass, and won two WTA 125 titles (including at Birmingham four weeks ago). The 21-year-old has also become an adept upset artist — though her career high is No. 29 and her current position is No. 32, she now owns a winning 7-4 record against Top 10 opposition, including 3-0 on grass this year. She’s also 2-1 overall against Swiatek.
However, Saturday’s triumph marks a significant milestone for Eala in terms of bringing that level to the Grand Slam stage for the first time. Prior to Wimbledon this year, her record in Grand Slam main draws was just 1-5. She’ll bid to keep her breakthrough tournament going against No. 13 seed Jasmine Paolini, who needed just 66 minutes to rout Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-2.
Paolini, the 2024 finalist, conceded just 11 points on serve in total, and saved both of the break points she faced. She also won 10 out of 12 points at net en route to reaching the second week of a major for the sixth time, and first since Roland Garros 2025. The Italian also levelled her head-to-head against Sakkari at 3-3 in their first encounter on grass.
Eala was the victor in her only previous meeting with Paolini, saving two set points in the second set to win 6-1, 7-6(5) in the Dubai second round this February.
More to come…
