Breakout star Alexandra Eala receives wildcard to Madrid Open, could face Iga Swiatek in rematch from Miami Open

After her splendid performance at the 2025 Miami Open where she captured the hearts of thousands, Filipino tennis star Alexandra Eala is set to return to the main draw of the WTA tour after receiving a wildcard to the upcoming Madrid Open.

The 19-year old was the talk of the town in Miami, where as a wildcard entrant she reached the semifinals. Eala recorded historic wins en route to the final four, defeating Australian Open champion Madison Keys and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek before falling to Jessica Pegula in three sets.

Although her current ranking of World No.72 is not high enough for a direct entry to the Madrid Open, Eala could have made it by playing in the qualifying rounds. However, the Filipina player is managed by IMG management group, who also own the Madrid Open and often hand out wildcards to several IMG-managed players. Considering her potential and growing star power, it comes as no surprise that Eala was handed a wildcard to the main draw in Madrid.

This is not the first time the 19-year old has competed at the Madrid Open, as she made two previous appearances in 2023 and 2024. Eala suffered an opening round loss to Tatjana Maria in 2023, before claiming her first-ever WTA 1000 match win in 2024 when she defeated Lesia Tsurenko in the first round. However, she would go on to lose to Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea in the second round.

Eala faces Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in the first round of this year's edition. Should the Filipina advance, she will face a familiar foe in Iga Swiatek, who will be eager to exact revenge on the rising star following Eala's victory over the former World No.1 in Miami.