The night air in Miami, as well as the morning in Manila, was thick with anticipation as Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala, barely out of her teens—her dreams sparkling, her spirit unbroken—stepped onto center court for what could have been another step toward a fairy-tale finish.
But as the clock ticked past midnight, Alex Eala’s Cinderella run at the Miami Open came to an end. She fell to World No. 4 Jessica Pegula, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3, in a match that twisted and turned like a finely spun novel.
Eala, just 19 years old, stormed the court with the audacity of youth. She broke Pegula’s serve and raced to a 2-0 lead in the first set. Her confidence was on full display as she continued to challenge the American with every shot. But experience, as it often does, had its say. Pegula composed herself, clawed her way back to level the score at 6-6, and then won a tense tiebreaker.
Then came a stumble. Eala, in pursuit of a shot early in the second set, nearly twisted her ankle, collapsing to the court. The crowd gasped, and for a brief moment, it seemed as though her run might be over.
But the Filipino youngster grinned through the pain, joking that her left ankle looked like a “mummy” as a medical staff wrapped it up. The moment of levity sparked a fierce rally. Eala roared back to take the second set 7-5, leveling the match and defying the odds once more.
However, the third set told a different story. Pegula steadied herself and eventually found the answer to the puzzle that was Eala. Despite the constant roar of Filipino supporters—waving flags and cheering their heroine on from the stands of the Hard Rock Stadium—Eala’s unforced errors crept in, sealing her fate with a final 6-3 scoreline.
Eala finished the match with 59 unforced errors, 13 more than Pegula’s total. The teenager’s typically reliable forehand let her down at crucial moments during the match.
A visibly tired Pegula acknowledged the rising star that is Eala: “I mean, she’s really good. A really good tennis player… She proved that tonight, and she’s really tough.”
As Eala walked off the court, she didn’t look like a defeated semifinalist but a champion in the eyes of every Filipino who cheered her on in Florida and halfway around the world in the Philippines.
Her performance in Miami, which included a jaw-dropping upset of five-time Grand Slam champion and World No. 2 Iga Świątek, made her the first Filipina to ever reach a WTA semifinal, propelling her into the world’s top 75. The future for Alex Eala is no longer a distant dream. It’s already unfolding before our eyes, with the French Open in her sights and a Grand Slam crown a tantalizing possibility.
The journey in Miami may have ended, but in the grand scheme, it’s only just begun.
