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Alexandra Eala returns in Madrid, could clash with Iga Swiatek in second round

The teenage sensation got a wild card into the main draw, and will face Viktoriya Tomova on Tuesday.

ByLiya Davidov

Published Apr 21, 2025

Alex Eala could be tennis' next global superstar | The Break

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Rising fan favorite Alexandra Eala is set to compete at the Mutua Madrid Open after receiving a wild card into the main draw.

This will be the 19-year-old's second career WTA 1000 event, following her breakthrough semifinal run at the Miami Open, where she defeated three Grand Slam champions, including world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.

HISTORIC❗

The new rankings are out and it's official: 🇵🇭 Alexandra Eala is the first woman from the Philippines EVER to break into the Top 100 on the WTA rankings. 💥

And she doesn't just break into the Top 100, she SOARS into it, from #140 to #75:https://t.co/itVRjQayij
— TENNIS (@Tennis) March 31, 2025

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Now in Madrid, Swiatek has an opportunity to avenge her straight-set loss against Eala—this time on her preferred surface, clay.

The world No. 2 comes into Madrid as the defending champion of the WTA 1000, and off a loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart. She's hoping to win her first title since Roland Garros last year. With a first-round bye, she awaits the victor of Eala and Viktoriya Tomova, who are meeting for the first time.

Turning pro in 2009, the Bulgarian heads into Madrid searching for her first career WTA title.

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If the Madrid crowd is anything like that in Miami, then Tomova (and possibly Swiatek) would be facing the crowd as well as the Philippine across the net.

Eala and Tomova are set to take the court on Tuesday, April 22, at 5:00 a.m. ET on Tennis Channel. The match replay will also be available on the Tennis Channel app for fans with a later wake-up time.

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