MANILA, Philippines — This time, Alex Eala is no longer an underdog, and she needs to win—so she did.
Last year’s breakout star Eala of the tournament outlasted Laura Siegemund of Germany in a grueling three-set match that lasted for three and a half hours, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, to advance in the round of 32 at the 2026 Miami Open on Friday, early morning (Manila time) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Eala needed to replicate last year’s top 4 finish here to defend the 390 points required to maintain her Top 30 WTA ranking.
Following the expiration of those points last Wednesday, she saw her ranking drop by at least 20 positions.
The 38-year-old Siegemund displayed immense grit in the opening frame, trading blows with the 20-year-old Eala before snatching the set in a 7-6 tiebreak win.
In the second frame, Eala showed improvement in her serves and leveled the match with a commanding 6-3 victory.
Eala dug deep in the deciding set and raced to a 4-1 lead before the veteran netter rallied to cut Eala’s lead down to 5-3.
Eala, however, prevented Siegemund to extend the match any longer and delivered precise power kills for a 6-3 victory.
“It means so much to me as a player and as a person. I came to Miami as a wildcard, and now I am in the third round again. I am really, really happy. Especially, that I can compete at this level today against an amazing fighter,” Eala said after the match.
The Filipina tennis star also shared that she’s glad to see her personal improvements.
“It was definitely close. [It’s] very demanding physically and mentally, but that was one of my goals, last year after this tournament was to improve physically, and here I am, fresh as a flower.”
It will be an uphill battle for the Filipina as she will either face Magda Linette in the next round.
Remarkably, Eala’s rise in tennis was propelled when she pulled an upset against World No.2 Iga Swiatek to reach the semis of the Miami Open last year