FILIPINA tennis sensation Alex Eala’s dream run at the 2025 Eastbourne Open Final ended in agony, coming within just one point of clinching her maiden WTA Main Tour title before falling to Australia’s Maya Joint.
After a breakthrough week that marked a major comeback from a string of early exits this season, Eala’s historic finals appearance ended in devastating fashion, as Joint outlasted her in a tense three-set battle: 4-6, 6-1, 7(12)-6(10).
Eala had her chances—holding four championship points and looking poised to seal the win—but the nerves may have gotten to the 20-year-old, who couldn’t capitalize when it mattered most.
What A Heartbreak
Eala had a sluggish start, falling behind 0-3 early in the opening set. She fought back to narrow the gap, saving a set point at 3-5 and keeping things close at 4-5, but eventually lost the set 4-6.
True to the fighting spirit of the Quezon City native, Eala had a strong second set, taking an early 2-0 lead. After conceding one game at 3-1, she dropped three straight to convincingly level the match and set up a dramatic decider.
With the score tied at 6-6 in the final set tiebreak, Eala found herself just one point away from history—four times. However, Joint held her nerve, saving each one and tying it at 10-all.
After Eala sent a shot long to give Joint match point at 11-10, the Australian capitalized, firing a clean winner to seal the victory, 12-10.
HERstory Written
Despite the crushing loss, Eala showed incredible poise and determination throughout the tournament. In her post-match remarks, she expressed pride in her performance and took comfort in how far she’s come.
“First of all, I wanna congratulate Maya for a great match and a great tournament. You did really well, and if I was to lose to anyone this week, it would be to you, so congratulations,” an emotional Eala said.
“To everyone who came to watch, you guys made it really special, my first WTA Finals. It’s a big deal for me and for my country ‘cause it’s historic, it’s the first time any Filipina has done anything. That’s also why I’m so emotional.”
“It’s only the first. I’ll definitely work hard to do more. Wimbledon is next week, hopefully I’ll forget about this match soon. It’s been a crazy year, so I’ll remember this week and this moment forever,” she went on to say.
Before the finals, Eala pulled off impressive upsets over World No. 42 Dayana Yastremska, No. 61 Lucia Bronzetti, and World No. 20 Jelena Ostapenko. She also fought her way through the qualifiers, highlighted by a strong win against No. 56 Hailey Baptiste.
Still sitting as World No. 74, Eala aims to channel this heartbreak into fuel as she gears up for her Wimbledon main draw debut. She’s set to face defending champion Barbora Krejcikova on Monday, June 30.
