By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala marched into the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open without breaking a sweat after her fourth-round opponent, world No. 10 Paula Badosa, withdrew due to lower back injury.
Eala and Badosa are slated to play Monday, March 24 (Tuesday morning, Philippine time) after coming off hard-earned wins from their third-round rivals. The 19-year-old Eala stunned reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-2, while Badosa needed a medical timeout early in her match before surviving Danish world No. 20 Clara Tauson, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
This would be Eala’s first WTA Tour quarterfinal in six appearances including her last Women’s Tennis Association (WTA1000) event at the Wuhan Open in China last year where she made a first-round exit.
She also competed in last year’s Miami Open, but bowed out in the second qualifying round.
A wildcard in this WTA1000 tournament, Eala awaits the winner between 22nd seed Elina Svitolina and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
Other quarterfinalists include 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducano against last year’s US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette versus two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini, and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka over 2024 Australian Open finalist Zheng Qinwen.
