(August 24, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – Alexandra Eala became the first woman representing the Philippines to win a match at a major, by defeating No. 14 seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) on Sunday at the US Open after coming back from a 5-1 deficit in the third set and getting some help from a video replay as well as her very vocal fans.
Eala is a 20-year-old who is ranked 75th and trains at the Rafael Nadal Academy. It’s her fourth win against a top-20 in 2025. Earlier in the year at the Miami Open, she beat three straight major titles winners, including Jelena Ostapenko, Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys to reach the final four.
“I had so much fun,” Eala said. “Definitely hard to see that or to see the positives when, you know, you’re down 5-1, but that’s what I tried to do.
“I tried to see the positives, find solutions. And obviously, you know, with all these people backing me up, it’s hard not to stay in the moment and get their energy.”
In the third set of the match on Grandstand, with Tauson up 5-4, Eala hit a ball near the net and it was not clear whether her racquet crossed the net.
Chair umpire Kader Nouni used the video review to see if the racquet had crossed the net. He said it did not, but Tauson was visibly upset.
“I think everything just made it so special from who I was playing, a really good player, first round, the first main draw US Open, coming back from an injury,” said the winner in her media conference.” And obviously all of the people who watched today, the crowd was amazing.
“I think everything in general just made the atmosphere so, so exciting, but at the same time, so tense. That’s also part of why I’m so happy.”
Eala, who won the Junior title in 2022 now becomes the first Filipino woman to advance to the second round of the US Open.
“I’m so blessed to be the first to do this,” she said. “I take so much pride in representing my country. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it gives — it adds meaning to what I do. “
“I’ve been playing since I was 4. I’m 20 now, so that’s 16 years of experience, you know, whether it’s at the junior level, 10-and-under level, professional level. I think that mental strength and that focus are the keys to, you know, coming out victorious in those moments.”
“I’m so happy to see the progress of tennis in Southeast Asia in general,” she said. “I know that a girl from Indonesia (Janiice Tjen) also won her match today. I’ve known her for a long time, so I’m happy for her. I’m happy that people from — or players from this region, you know, are coming up and starting to be successful.”
“I would say that anything is possible and, you know, to dream big. I think me as a person, I’m very ambitious. Although there was no one from my country who did this before or was successful in tennis, I took inspiration from anyone I could; from my family, from my brother.
“So I think just to be ambitious and to dream big and know that you can do it.”
