Alexandra Eala Reveals How She Navigated Fame After Stunning Win Over Iga Swiatek

Alexandra Eala is in Birmingham to participate in the WTA 125 event and kick-start her campaign on grass.

Alexandra Eala Reveals How She Navigated Fame After Stunning Win Over Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek, Alexandra Eala (Image via X/Iga archive, 23)

Alexandra Eala shot to fame after upsetting five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinal of the French Open with a 6-2, 7-5 scoreline. The fact that she is a graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy, made the win even more stunning.

Back in 2023, Swiatek was the guest of honor at the graduation ceremony of the academy and also delivered a speech. Eala beamed with pride while standing between Nadal and Swiatek after receiving her graduation certificate.

At that time, perhaps no one knew that Eala and Swiatek would be pitted against each other about two years later. Eala, a 19-year-old at that time, became the first Filipino in the Open Era to win four main draw matches at a WTA 1000 event.

But Eala knows that she cannot afford to let herself get devoured by fame. During an interview with Tennis365, Eala revealed that her family and her team kept her grounded and helped her navigate fame.

I think I have done a good job and my team have done a good job of dealing with everything that happened after Miami. So many things changed and my perspective has changed since Miami, but my day-to-day life is the same. I have the same work ethic and the same attention to detail. What happened in Miami was definitely a big surprise for me.

After knocking out the World No.5, Eala lost a three-setter against eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula in the semifinal. Before Swiatek, Eala breezed past reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the third round. Those matches in Miami against Keys and Swiatek are her only two top 2 wins in her career so far.

Before Miami, Eala was No.140 in the WTA rankings and had never defeated a top 100 player before. But en route to her defeat to Pegula, she eliminated three Grand Slam semifinals (Swiatek, Keys, and Jelena Ostapenko). Her performance helped her rankings as she climbed several places to occupy a career-high No.69 ranking.

Swiatek is at Roland Garros to bid for her first title of the season. She was at the receiving end of Elena Rybakina‘s stunning performance in the fourth round.

The Pole, however, slowly changed the momentum in her favor in the second set, before eventually clinching a tight decider to move into the quarterfinals. Swiatek hasn’t yet reached a singles final since winning her fourth Roland Garros title last year by beating Jasmine Paolini.

Alexandra Eala preparing for the grass swing

Alexandra Eala’s campaign on the European clay swing came to an end after her first-round exit at the French Open. She was successful in winning just one game on the surface- against Viktoria Tomova, in the first round of the Madrid Open. In the second round, Iga Swiatek came from a set down to get her revenge and tie the head-to-head record to 1-1.

Alexandra Eala (3)
Alexandra Eala (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Next, the 20-year-old will kick-start her campaign on clay and will face Linda Fruhvirtova in her opening round of the Birmingham Classic, where she is the third seed. Eala also played doubles with Rebeka Masarova but their campaign ended after defeating Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter in their opening round.

I’m always excited to go back on grass. It’s a very unique experience. I haven’t played enough on it to form a solid opinion on the surface, but I definitely enjoy it. We do not have many grass courts in the Philippines. I probably played on grass when I was hitting the ball around in a backyard!

Alexandra Eala told Tennis365

Eala will also be making her main draw debut at Wimbledon. She lost in her third qualifying round match against Lulu Sun last year. In Grand Slam events, Eala has moved into the main draw of only this year’s French Open.

Also read: Daria Kasatkina Surprised at How Fast Mirra Andreeva Has “Grown a Lot” After Losing to the Teenager at the Roland Garros