Alex Eala Becomes First Filipina to Win a Grand Slam Match

Alex Eala made history early Sunday evening as she became the first Filipina to win a Grand Slam match after defeating 14th seed Clara Tauson.

A jam-packed Grandstand court witnessed Eala come back from 5-1 down in the third set to overcome Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (11). A majority Filipino crowd cheered her on as the 20-year-old collapsed on the court in tears after the win, rushing over to celebrate with her box after shaking Tauson’s hand at the net.

“It’s so special,” Eala said in her court interview “They make me more and more special. To be Filipino, it’s something I take so much pride in. I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here at the US Open, I’m so grateful that they made me feel like I’m home.” Eala scored her first Grand Slam main draw earlier this year at Roland Garros, losing in three sets to Emiliana Arango.

After a stellar grass court season that saw her make the finals in Eastbourne, she fell to defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejčíková in the first round of Wimbledon. She didn’t have a lot of tournament practice heading into the final Slam of the season, losing to Markéta Vondroušová in the first Eala was off to a flying start in the first set, breaking Tauson for a 3-2 lead before breaking her again in the final game of the set to take it 6-3. Tauson came back in the second set, breaking Eala at love for a 2-1 lead early on. She broke Eala again before taking the second set 6-2, forcing a third-set decider.

It looked as if Eala was down and out after the Dane won five games in a row for a 5-1 lead in the final set. Outfitted in a red Nike kit and her signature Sampaguita hairties, Eala pushed through to capture the next five games, breaking Tauson twice to secure a 6-5 lead. round in Montreal. She so nearly won the match while up a break point at 40-30; however, a backhand down the line from Tauson while Eala was on the run kept the 14th seed in the running. The Dane was unwilling to give away the match so easily, fighting off three match points in the tiebreak before hitting a forehand long, with Eala winning the tiebreak 13-11.

“I’ve been playing since I was four,” Eala said during her post-match press conference. “I’m 20 now, so that’s 16 years of experience, 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 coming out victorious in those moments.”

Eala will take on the winner between Cristina Buçsa and American Claire Liu on Wednesday for a spot in the third round. The US Open singles tournament runs through September 7. Alex Eala Stay locked into Sports Illustrated’s Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.