Teenage wildcard Eala 'on cloud nine' after shocking Swiatek in Miami

Alexandra Eala says she was "on cloud nine" and "in complete disbelief" following her shock victory over Iga Swiatek in the Miami Open quarter-finals.

The world number 140, who had already beaten Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys earlier this fortnight, continued her remarkable run at the WTA 1000 event with a 6-2 7-5 win.

A wildcard for this tournament, Eala became the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA tour-level semi-final.

The 19-year-old is also the third wildcard to progress to the last four in Miami, after Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka eight years later.

wild cardwild win#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/xFvzsBextv
— wta (@WTA) March 26, 2025

"I'm in complete disbelief right now, I'm on cloud nine," Eala said in her on-court interview.

"It's so surreal. 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."

The reward for Eala, who will climb into world's top 100 for the first time, is a last-four clash with either Jessica Pegula or Emma Raducanu.