Coming from a country with little tennis pedigree, Eala is already accustomed to being a trailblazer for the Philippines – even though she is still a teenager.
In 2021, she became the first Filipino to win a WTA Tour match and first to win a junior Grand Slam crown with the 2022 US Open title.
The New York triumph even led to the teenager gracing the cover of Vogue back home.
Now Eala has announced herself to a wider global audience, having beaten some of the biggest names on the WTA Tour to reach the last four.
A graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy, she had only won two main-draw matches before her stunning run in Miami.
Three of her four victories at the WTA 1000 event – the tier of tournaments below the Grand Slams – have come against Grand Slam champions.
A second-round win over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was followed by a seismic win over world number five Madison Keys – who won the Australian Open in January – in the third round.
Eala received a walkover in the fourth round when Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa withdrew injured, but showed again why she is regarded as an emerging star in Wednesday’s quarter-final.
Fearless, ferocious and hitting a flurry of winners, Eala produced a quality performance in her first career match against Poland’s Swiatek.
However, they had met previously when Swiatek, along with Nadal, presented Eala with her graduation certificate two years ago.
“It’s so surreal,” she added. “I’m so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage.
“My coach told me to run, to go for every ball, to take all the opportunities I can, because a five-time Slam champion is not going to give you the win.”
