Alexandra Eala made history at the US Open 2025 by becoming the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam main draw match in the Open Era. She edged past Clara Tauson in three sets, marking a milestone after earlier appearances at French Open and Wimbledon.
Philippines’ tennis star Alexandra Eala scripted history after her first-round win against Clara Tauson of Denmark in the women’s singles at the ongoing US Open 2025. This is Eala’s third Grand Slam main draw appearance after having played the opening round of the French Open and Wimbledon Championships this year.
Alexandra Eala clinched her first match win at a Grand Slam by defeating Clara Tauson in three sets – 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, to book her spot in the second round of the US Open. Eala won the opening set before seemingly losing her rhythm in the second set, with Tauson level the match and pushing it to the deciding set. In the final set, Eala and Tauson put on a great fight as both were locked at 6-6 before the tiebreaker.
In the tiebreak, Filipino battled through a nail-biting and marathon finish as she clinched the match with an incredible 13-11 in the deciding third set of the opening round. With this victory, Alexandra Eala became the first-ever tennis player from the Philippines to win a match in the main draw at a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
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Felicisimo Ampon was the first Filipino to achieve the feat of winning Grand Slam matches during the Amateur Era, reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open and multiple fourth-round appearances (four times) at the US Open (then called US National Championships) in the 1950s.
Who is Alexandra Eala?
Alexandra Eala hails from Quezon City in the Philippines, where he was born and raised. Eala comes from a family sports background, with her mother, Rosemarie Maniego-Eala, being a former swimmer and the 1985 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist in the 100-metre backstroke, while her uncle, Noli Eala, is a former Philippine Basketball Association commissioner.
Eala’s brother, Michael Eala, represented the Nittany Lions of Pennsylvania State University in tennis from 2020 to 2024. It was a natural for Alexandra Eala to pick up a sport as a career path, and she chose tennis at a very young age. Eala is an alumna of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain, where she graduated in 2023 after honing her skills and developing into one of the brightest prospects in Asian tennis.
Eala’s big breakthrough came when she won the Australian Open Girls’ Doubles event in 2020, partnering Priska Madelyn Nugroho of Indonesia. That year, she reached the semifinal of the French Open girls’ singles, and in 2021, she clinched her girls’ doubles title at Roland Garros. In 2022, Eala scripted history by becoming the first tennis player from the Philippines to win a girls’ singles Major title at the US Open.
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Alexandra Eala made her professional debut in 2020 on the ITF Circuit, and a year later, she made her WTA tour debut after receiving a wildcard entry for the first round at the Miami Open. In 2022, Eala represented the Philippines at the Southeast Asia Games and clinched three Bronze medals.
In 2025, Alexander Eala received yet another breakthrough by reaching the main draw of the French Open, where she lost in the first round. She also entered the main draw of the Wimbledon Championships, where he again lost in the first round of her second Grand Slam appearance. In March this year, Eala broke into the top 100 of the WTA Rankings for the first time and is currently ranked 75.
‘Everything just made it so special’
Speaking about scripting history at the US Open 2025, Alexandra Eala expressed her pride in representing the Philippines and becoming the first to achieve the historic feat from her country in the Open era.
“It means a lot, I think you could see by my reaction,” Eala told reporters.
“Everything just made it so special – from who I was playing to the crowd, it was amazing. I’m so blessed to be the first to do this. I take so much pride in representing my country.
“I’m so blessed to be the first to do this. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it adds meaning to what I do,” he added.
Alexandra Eala will look to further progress in her maiden US Open main draw when she plays the second round of the tournament on Wednesday, August 26.