Alexandra Eala, 20, became the first player representing the Philippines in the Open era to win a Grand Slam match by defeating No. 14 Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) at the US Open. Eala is ranked 75th and trains at the Rafael Nadal Academy. The win was her fourth victory over a top-20 opponent in 2025, including a March victory over Iga Swiatek en route to the Miami Open semifinals. Eala rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the third set to win in a final-set tiebreak. A pivotal video review ruled that her shot was fair, producing a momentum shift. Tauson complained and later double-faulted, and Eala won 16 of the last 21 points. The match lasted more than two and a half hours and required five match points to close.
NEW YORK -- Alexandra Eala became the first player representing the Philippines to win a Grand Slam match in the Open era, doing so at the US Open by defeating No. 14 seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) on Sunday after coming back from a 5-1 deficit in the third set and getting some help from a key video review decision.
The pivotal moment came in the last set at the Grandstand, with Tauson clinging to a 5-4 lead and serving for the match for the second time. Eala hit a shot right up near the net and it wasn't immediately clear during play whether or not her racket had crossed over the tape to make contact with the ball, which isn't allowed.
Chair umpire Kader Nouni employed video review, a system that was introduced at the US Open in 2023 on a small number of courts to allow officials to check calls such as double bounces and was expanded to all 17 competition arenas this year. Nouni ruled that Eala hit the ball fairly and awarded her the point, giving her two break chances at 15-40 there.
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