WHAT HAPPENED: What a moment! In front of a boisterous, highly-energized crowd in the Grandstand, 2022 US Open junior girls’ singles champion and world No. 70 Alexandra Eala—the first-ever Filipino to contest a match in the US Open women’s singles draw—came back from a double break in the third set to upset No. 14 seed Clara Tauson, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(11), and reach the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
“It was so, so difficult,” Eala said after erasing a 5-1 deficit to score the victory. “[Clara is] a huge player, she’s a great player. Definitely not an easy draw for a first round, but I’m so happy that I was able to dig deep. I was just thinking to push the limit physically, mentally…this was it.”
On paper, the 22-year-old Tauson held a decisive ‘experience’ advantage; she was vying to claim her thirteenth second-round appearance at a Grand Slam, while her 20-year-old opponent was hoping to record just her first. Tauson is also currently enjoying her best-ever season on tour, finishing runner-up in the WTA 1000 in Dubai in February and then surging to a career-high ranking of world No. 14 earlier this August after reaching the Round of 16 at Wimbledon and the semifinals of the WTA 1000 in Montreal. (In that event, she notched her first-ever win over six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in three attempts.)
Still, world No. 70 Eala has proved that she knows a thing or three around an upset. On the Miami hard courts in the spring, the lefty—who at the time was ranked world No. 140—sent shockwaves through the tennis stratosphere when she defeated three Grand Slam champions in a row—Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek—to earn a semifinal berth at the event. A few months later, on the grass at Eastbourne, she scored her first-ever runner-up finish at a tour-level tournament, then pushed defending champion Barbora Krejcikova to three sets in the first round at Wimbledon.
And in the early stages, the lower-ranked player did not cower from the occasion. As the highly-partisan crowd cheered her on, Eala used her aggression, consistency and court craft to create four break point opportunities in Tauson’s second service game. Although the hard-hitting Dane ultimately held, the moment—and the raucous applause for her opponent—flustered her. She began to misfire, and Eala finally capitalized on a break point two games later to lead 4-2. The Filipina then saved two break points on her own serve—and earned a game point with a blistering forehand winner that hit the back of the baseline—to maintain the advantage. From there, Tauson grew even more frustrated with the crowd, and it didn’t help that Eala seemed unwilling and unable to miss a shot. The Filipino extended multiple points to break again and claim the first set.
The momentum swing in the second was swift, as Eala’s service performance dipped and Tauson began to impose the game that has made her 2025 season so lucrative. More willing to grit out rallies, the higher-ranked player won the first ten points played on Eala’s serve and, despite dropping her own serve once, held on to the lead to take the contest to a decider. Eala hit eight unforced errors in the entire first set; she equaled that number through the first five games of the second. She’d ultimately only manage to win 28% of her first-serve points.
In the third, Tauson refused to back down and continued to quiet the noise that initially troubled her. She broke her opponent in the third game and then again in the fifth, even hitting a drop shot return winner along the way.
Of course, a match this intense demanded at least one more twist. Feeding off the energy of the crowd, Eala broke Tauson as the Dane served for the match on her first attempt. Tauson then attempted to serve it out again. During that game, Eala hit a volley right on top of the net to go up 15-40. Tauson requested a video review to see if Eala’s swing crossed the net, but the call didn’t go her way. She promptly double faulted, and Eala leveled the score. Eala then earned a match point on Tauson’s next service game, but couldn’t convert. The pair headed to a finish befitting the contest’s level of spectacle: a 10-point final-set tiebreak.
The tiebreak mirrored the drama and flow of the entire match. Eala began to fire winners at will and raced out to an 8-4 lead. Tauson promptly claimed the next four points, then saved three more match points as the score headed into double digits. Eala finally claimed the match on her fifth opportunity, and the Grandstand crowd erupted in decibel-defying cheers.
“It’s so special,” Eala said of the support from the Grandstand spectators. “They make me more and more special. To be Filipino is something I take so much pride in. I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community at the US Open, I’m so grateful. They made me feel like I’m home.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Eala becomes the first Filipino woman to advance to the second round of the US Open. She could become the first to advance to the third round as well. But first, she must face the winner of the match between Cristina Bucsa and qualifier Claire Liu. She has never faced Liu and defeated Bucsa the one time they played, though they have not met since 2021.
MATCH POINT: Eala has now claimed four wins against Top 20 players in 2025.
