Rafael Nadal sends touching message to his academy graduate Alexandra Eala after her stunning upset over Iga Swiatek at Miami Open
Rafael Nadal Academy alumnus Alexandra Eala served up a performance for the ages at the 2025 Miami Open, achieving an upset against second seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. The 19-year-old Filipino extended her dream run by taking down the five-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 7-5 in under two hours.
She entered the WTA 1000 main draw as a wildcard and began her run with a straight-sets win over local favorite American Katie Volynets in the first round. She then defeated 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, 10th seed Paula Badosa (Walkover), and the 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys to reach the quarterfinals, where she beat five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek.
The 19-year-old made history as the first player from the Philippines to advance to a tour-level semifinal and is now set to become the first Filipina to break into the WTA Top 100 in next week’s rankings.
In response to her outstanding victory, long-time supporter of Eala, Rafael Nadal, took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate her. The Spanish tennis icon shared how proud and amazed he was with his protege's phenomenal accomplishment, writing:
"We are extremely proud of you, Alex. What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming!"
In a poetic turn of events, Eala's upset of Swiatek had an added layer of meaning. The Polish star was the guest of honor at Eala's Rafa Nadal Academy graduation in June 2023, imparting words of encouragement to aspiring young players. Now, less than two years on, Eala beat Swiatek on one of tennis' largest stages.
Alexandra Eala shared how training at Rafael Nadal’s academy has fueled her fairytale run at the Miami Open
In a post-match press conference after her Round of 16 win over Madison Keys at the 2025 Miami Open, Alexandra Eala was asked how she got the opportunity to train at Rafael Nadal’s academy and how much credit the academy deserved for her progress. She replied:
"The academy has been my home for the past seven years. Of course, my family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there. But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I'm able to be where I am now. And I think the combination of everything that I've been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities."
World No. 140, Alexandra Eala will take on either Emma Raducanu or fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinal on March 27, 2025. The winner of this match will face either top seed Aryna Sabalenka or sixth seed Jasmine Paolini in the final.