The wonder girl continues to stun world tennis. Alex Eala, the 19-year-old Filipina, was victorious in the first match of the women’s main draw at the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open, sweeping aside Veronika Tomova, 6-3, 6-2. Eala’s season keeps getting better, players are struggling to find answers to the game of this new prodigy of world tennis, and she has now proven that what happened just over a month ago was no fluke.

This tournament is the first WTA 1000 since Eala blasted her way into the semifinals of the Miami Open presented by Itaú. During that crazy fortnight, she saw off no fewer than four Top 25 players in Jelena Ostapenko, Paula Badosa, Madison Keys and current world No. 2 Iga Swiatek. She reached the last four without dropping a single set and eventually bowed out after three closely contested sets against a hugely impressive Jessica Pegula. She notched up her fifth WTA 1000 win this year. Noami Osaka is the only other Asian player to achieve the feat since the WTA 1000 format was introduced in 2009.

Thanks to her performance across the pond, Eala climbed from 150th in the world to No. 72. The leap up the rankings means she will make her French Open debut in a few weeks. All eyes are now on the young Asian player, who will now clash with none other than Iga Swiatek for a place in round three: “This is all new to me. I’ve had a sudden improvement and it’s put my name out there. I’m trying to get used to everything and to feel professional. When I go into the locker room with the other players, I just want to feel like one of them and to adapt as fast as possible”. With wins like today’s, Alex is certainly adapting quickly.

Tuesday’s victory is not her first in Madrid. Twelve months ago, the Rafa Nadal Academy alumna made it to the second round here before packing her bags. This week she will face Iga Swiatek again and it will surely be a match to watch in the WTA competition. In their only previous encounter, Alex introduced herself to the world, getting the job done in style. This time, though, the circumstances will be very different. Swiatek is the defending champion in Madrid and the runner-up two years ago; the Caja Magica is her playground. Moreover, she will surely be out for revenge for what happened in their Miami encounter.

Eala has expressed the utmost admiration for her next opponent, who was, incidentally, the guest of honour at her Rafa Nadal Academy graduation ceremony a few months ago: “Iga is spectacular. She pushes you to the limit. I love her intensity and her footwork, it’s something I want to look at more to see how I can learn. Her serve is really good too”. She is certainly a good example to follow.

One of the keys to Alex’s sudden emergence is an improved service. The Filipina admitted that it was Rafa Nadal himself who gave her a few pointers to improve that part of her game: “I still have a lot to improve on in that regard. I’m open to advice”, she laughed. “But it’s true that Rafa helped me with my serve and I’m seeing a big improvement”.