Alex Eala defeated Iga Swiatek, 7-6, 6-2, in the third round of Wimbledon.
The Filipina delivered arguably the finest performance of her tennis career, knocking the defending champion out of Wimbledon.
Overcome with emotion, Eala struggled to hold back tears during her on-court interview, as she made more history for the Philippines, becoming the first player from her country to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
How many Grand Slams will Alex Eala win in her career? 🏆
She's just knocked out the defending Wimbledon champion!
During the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, former world number one Tracy Austin delivered her verdict on Eala’s sensational win.
Tracy Austin says Alex Eala ‘handled the moment beautifully’ and makes comment about her fans
“Alexandra Eala broke out last year, 2025, in Miami, where she beat [Iga] Swiatek, beat Madison Keys,” Austin remembered.
Alex Eala’s top-10 wins
| Match | Surface | Opponent | Opponent’s rank | Score |
| 2025 Miami Open – 3R | Hard | Madison Keys | 5th | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 2025 Miami Open – 4R | Hard | Iga Swiatek | 2nd | 6-2, 7-5 |
| 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships – 2R | Hard | Jasmine Paolini | 8th | 6-1, 7-6 |
| 2026 Indian Wells – 3R | Hard | Coco Gauff | 4th | 6-2, 2-0 (RET) |
| 2026 Berlin Open – 2R | Grass | Elena Rybakina | 2nd | 7-5, 6-4 |
| 2026 Berlin Open – QF | Grass | Elina Svitolina | 8th | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 2026 Wimbledon – 3R | Grass | Iga Swiatek | 3rd | 7-6, 6-2 |
“We hadn’t really heard about her; she was a wild card.
“So I thought that win against Swiatek last year in Miami was going to help in a situation like this, help take some of the aura away.
“Eala didn’t surprise me, because a couple of weeks ago in Berlin, she beat [Elena] Rybakina, beat [Elina] Svitolina, plays so well on grass, gets down low, has that lefty slice serve.
“Absorbs the pace so well, and then when she gets the opportunity to attack, she does that with powerful ground strokes, and then even goes to the net, she’s not that tall, but she’s looking to go to the net.
“She handled the moment beautifully, and the Filipino fans are so behind her. Wherever she goes, she gets that support.”
Austin then shared her thoughts on the ‘full circle moment’ of Eala defeating Swiatek.
“There’s so much in this match as well, because Alexandra Eala graduated from the Rafa Nadal Academy, she got a scholarship when she was 13 years old, picked out at a junior tournament for her skill, and they said, ‘Would you like a scholarship?’ and of course, she said yes. And when she got the diploma, she received it from Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal,” said Austin.
“If that’s not full circle, I don’t know what is!
“That would have been intimidating, even though she’s beaten her; she is so poised, an incredibly calm young woman.
“She did brilliantly out there.”
Tracy Austin has identified something strange about Iga Swiatek’s game
Austin also took the time to weigh in on Swiatek’s struggles.
“I’ve seen this so often, actually throughout last year, except for Wimbledon, where she was so much more calm, and so much more consistent, seemed to have control of her shots, but we’ve seen this a little bit in certain parts of matches, even where she’ll win a first set easily, then she’ll lapse and go off, and she can’t seem to control those groundstrokes,” she said.
“What’s kind of strange is that the misses are by eight feet, 10 feet, and then she’ll overspin into the bottom of the net. You’re used to seeing someone at the top of the game, maybe miss by two or three feet, but the tension is extraordinary.
“Sometimes when I’m watching her, I’m calling her match, I feel the anxiety.”
Swiatek was visibly and audibly frustrated throughout the match, as she failed in her bid to retain her Wimbledon crown.
Since winning her sixth Grand Slam at the All England Club last year, Swiatek has lost in the quarter-finals of the 2025 US Open and the 2026 Australian Open, the fourth round of the 2026 French Open, and now the third round of Wimbledon.
Swiatek will now look to regroup ahead of the hard-court season, while Eala turns her attention to the fourth round, where she will meet Jasmine Paolini on Monday, July 6.
