In June, Maya Joint and Alexandra Eala contested perhaps the best WTA Tour final of 2025.
The youngsters, aged 19 and 20 respectively, met in the Eastbourne Open final. Eala was bidding for her first WTA Tour title, while Joint was hoping to win her second after capturing her first at the Morocco Open in May.
After splitting the first two sets, Joint and Eala contested a titanic third-set tiebreak – a tiebreak that would determine the winner of the tournament.
Joint, a native of Australia, saved four match points during the tiebreak, before going on to win the contest 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 [12-10].
Joint has reflected on the contest while speaking on the Sit-Down Podcast.
Maya Joint says the Eastbourne Open final tiebreak against Alexandra Eala was ‘insane’
Speaking on the Sit-Down podcast, Joint spoke about the ‘crazy’ Eastbourne Open final against Alexandra Eala: a final which left a heartbroken Eala in tears.
Joint had defeated Ons Jabeur, Emma Raducanu, Anna Blinkova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on her way to the Eastbourne final.
Joint said: “I think in the final in Eastbourne that match was really crazy, the tiebreak was insane.
“For the tiebreaks that I played after that match, I just tried to think back to that final because I came back when I was down quite a few match points, and yeah, some of those points were ridiculous.
“I don’t really remember exactly what happened either, kind of blacked out at some point, I was so nervous.
“But I just remembered I really, really wanted to win. So I try and take experience and confidence from those wins.”
The Australian then reflected on her nerves going into the final, saying: “I was pretty nervous going out onto the court, but I had played a final earlier that year, so I think I was a little bit more relaxed than when I was going out to that final.
“Just trying to take some experience knowing I’ve been in that situation before, and I handled it really well, and I started really strong in that match, and then she lifted her game quite a bit.
And I was struggling for the second set and start of the third, and yeah, I think I lost nine out of 11 games or something. It was a bit of a rough patch, and I was just trying to get back into the match because it was a really big final, big opportunity, and I didn’t just want to have the scoreboard show that I lost one and one.
“So I was just trying point-by-point, trying to get back into the match. Somehow I was able to get it back and get it into a tiebreak. She had match points. I don’t even know what happened anymore.”
Joint has since risen to world number 32 and could be seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time when the 2026 Australian Open rolls around in January.
This year, the Australian has beaten a host of well-known names on the WTA Tour – including Clara Tauson, Leylah Fernandez and Sofia Kenin.
Few would bet against Joint continuing her rise in 2026, as she is perhaps the most talented young star on the WTA Tour aside from Mirra Andreeva.
How did Maya Joint react after winning the Eastbourne Open?
After winning the Eastbourne Open, Joint praised her Filipino opponent, who was congratulated by Rafael Nadal after winning her first WTA title at the Guadalajara 125 event in September.
“I’m very happy right now. It was a very difficult match,” Joint told the WTA.
“That third set, I’m proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match.”
“I think Alex played really well today. She definitely tested me. I think after the first set, she got a lot more aggressive with her balls. I was on the back foot, I felt like, for most of the match. I just needed to try to find a way to get back into it.”
Eala, meanwhile, has ended the WTA Tour campaign as the world number 50. She is the first Filipino player to ever crack the WTA top 50.
In fact, Eala was the first Filipino player to crack the top 100.
