Alex Eala 'disappointed' but maintains 'positive' after Miami Open loss
Alex Eala is keeping her chin up after finishing her stint at the 2025 Miami Open early.
The 19-year-old tennis phenom fell short at the semifinals of the prestigious competition, bowing out to World No. 4, America’s Jessica Pegula, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3. In an interview with Miami Open, Eala admitted that she was saddened by her loss, but is striving to remain optimistic.
"Of course, I’m disappointed," she said. "But there’s so many times in tennis where you have to dig out the dirt to look for the positive and now I’m enjoying it because there’s so much positive around me and I don’t know how many times that has happened so I’m just lucky to have been able to experience these two weeks."
Eala highlighted how Pegula "played amazing" during their match together.
"I definitely had my chances and I definitely have things that I could’ve done better, but I literally gave everything I had. As you see, I’m taped up like a mummy. I did everything and I have no regrets," she said, adding that her goal is to "keep this up."
Pegula says she is 'tired'
After winning the exhausting 2-hour, 24-minute battle against Eala, Pegula celebrated by writing "I am tired" on Miami Open's camera lens.
"It’s so tough. I’m exhausted and I didn’t even win the tournament yet," Pegula explained in a post-match interview.
She remarked on the challenge of facing an opponent like Eala.
"I let her back in the match at 3-1 up (second set), and she just started ripping her balls going for her shots, and you just have to weather the storm with people like that. She competes really well," the American player highlighted.
With her victory, Pegula is moving on to the final round, where she will compete against World No. 1, Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka.
Eala made history at the games this year. She defeated former French Open champion and World No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko on March 22.
Last March 24, she defeated Australian Open champion, America's Madison Keys, making her the first Filipino to beat a Top 10 opponent since the ranking system came into being 50 years ago.
She won against World No. 2 Iga Swiatek on March 27, securing her place in the semis.
She achieved two historic milestones: becoming the first Filipino to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal and entering the WTA top 100. (with reports from AFP)
