Alexandra Eala ‘taped up like a mummy’ and has ‘no regrets’ after defeat to Jessica Pegula at Miami Open

Teenage wildcard Alexandra Eala was the big underdog story at this year's Miami Open following a wonderful run to the semi-finals. The 19-year-old dumped out world No. 2 Iga Swiatek ahead of her clash with Jessica Pegula, but the American ultimately proved to be too strong in south Florida. Pegula can now look forward to a tussle with familiar foe Aryna Sabalenka for the WTA 1000 Masters title.

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines reacts while playing against Jessica Pegula of the United States in the semi-final on Day 10 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 27, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida

Image credit: Getty Images

Alexandra Eala pushed through the pain barrier in her Miami Open semi-final defeat to Jessica Pegula, as her memorable run at the WTA 1000 tournament came to an end.

The Filipino was beaten 7-6(3) 5-7 6-3, coming after her sensational quarter-final victory over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.

The 19-year-old's ranking at world No. 140 ensured she became the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in the tournament's history, and played on with a rolled ankle suffered at the start of the second set against Pegula.

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Sporting tape on her left thigh and ankle, she told reporters in the mixed zone: "Of course, I’m disappointed.

"But there are so many times in tennis where you have to dig out the dirt to look for the positive and now I’m enjoying it because there’s so much positive around me and I don’t know how many times that has happened, so I’m just lucky to have been able to experience these two weeks.

"The match I played was amazing and she [Pegula] played amazing. I definitely had my chances and I definitely have things that I could’ve done better, but I literally gave everything I had. As you see, I’m taped up like a mummy. I did everything and I have no regrets.

"To have a week like this, the stars need to align and they did this week, and hopefully I can keep that up - that is my goal now, to keep this up."

Pegula certainly had to strain every sinew in a bid to get the job done, prevailing after two hours and 25 minutes.

The world No. 4 was broken three times in the second set, before momentum ultimately swung the American's way when she broke the Filipino's serve at 5-3 in the decisive set.

Last year's US Open finalist then sealed the deal on her second match point.

"I'm so tired, so, so tired," she said in her on-court interview.

"She’s really good. I don’t think she needs me to tell her that she's a great player, that we're not going to see enough of her. We definitely are, and she proved that tonight."

Pegula to face Sabalenka in the final

Pegula's reward for powering her way past Eala is a match against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday.

It is a rematch of the 2024 US Open final, where Pegula will be hoping for revenge on home soil after losing her previous stateside meeting with the Belarusian.

She has a poor record against Sabalenka though, losing six of their eight previous clashes.

Her two victories came at the last-16 stage in Cincinnati in 2020, the pair's first WTA meeting, and in the first round of the 2023 WTA Finals.

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