WIMBLEDON — Alexandra Eala pulled off the biggest win of her career to knock out defending Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, reaching the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time in her career.
The Filipina recorded a shock 7-6 (11-9), 6-2 victory on Centre Court that saw her save two set points in the opener to become the first from her country to advance to the second week of a major.
While Swiatek was gracious in defeat, she admitted struggling against Eala’s “slow” serve did cause her problems.
“I think it was tougher mentally for me to accept these missed returns from the slow serves. I got to say it’s much tougher to return a serve like that than a normal serve,” No.3 seed Swiatek said.
“I know it was slow. I know exactly how it’s going to come to me. It’s such a different rhythm than what I usually have a chance to return.
Over the moon 🌙
Alex Eala continues to make history at Wimbledon!✨#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/ZBXW6539EF
— wta (@WTA) July 4, 2026
“The first serve, I mean, it was a good fight and I know that it’s hard, such a long set. I know that one ball here or there could change a lot.
“But I wanted to be present in the second set. I made some unforced errors at the beginning. Then, yeah, I felt like she was serving slower and slower, and it became tougher and tougher for me to return these serves. That, for me, was hard to accept, yeah.”
A joyous Eala, who also beat her opponent 6-2, 7-5 in Miami last year, was surprised to hear Swiatek admitting her slower serves had a big impact.
“I have never really been the biggest server in comparison to a lot of the girls here. So I do my best to use my serve as an advantage. I think I have a lot of other strengths,” Eala said.
“Maybe for someone like Iga who has won so many slams … or maybe someone like Serena or Venus this achievement may seem small, but for someone who grew up in the Philippines. … for her this is everything.”
Alexandra Eala after her win ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zdcrF4eDSZ
— ESPN (@espn) July 4, 2026
“Although I do believe it’s been improving a lot (smiling). But yeah, every player’s different. Maybe Iga today… She said that?
“I guess I did my job well, yeah (smiling).”
The world No.32, who is fast becoming a sporting superstar in her native Philippines, is now 7-4 against Top 10 opponents.
She has the chance to take out No.13 seed Jasmine Paolini in the next round with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
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