Alex Eala has made history again, this time at the 2025 U.S. Open, where she beat world No. 14 Clara Tauson in a three-set match after erasing a 1-5 deficit in the final set. Eala becomes the first Filipino to win a match at a Grand Slam singles tournament in the Open era, after a foiled debut in the French Open in May and a promising start at Wimbledon against the defending champion, which ultimately ended in favor of the latter.
Eala, who stunned the world in March by taking down three Grand Slam champions on the way to the semi-finals at the 2025 Miami Open, drew Tauson in the first round of the U.S. Open. The Dane, Tauson, comes hot on the heels of a great season, having made the finals in Dubai, the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, and the semifinals in Montreal, where she beat world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
But Eala, ever a firebrand 20-year-old, was not about to lose her first U.S. Open appearance as a pro (she was the 2022 U.S. Open junior girls’ singles champion). Playing in front of a crowd of supporters, the 20-year-old won the first set, 6-3. But Tauson was able to clinch the second set at 2-6. The real challenge came late in the deciding set, where Eala was met with a 1-5 deficit, after Tauson broke her in the third and fifth game.
“It was so, so difficult,” Eala said in a post-match interview. “[Clara is] a huge player, she’s a great player. Definitely not an easy draw for a first round, but I’m so happy that I was able to dig deep. I was just thinking to push the limit physically, mentally… this was it.”
Alex Eala Mouths ‘Putangina!’
The Eala-Tauson bout had all the makings of a historic match: a nail-biting seventh game that saw the Dane serve for the match, but which Eala ultimately broke; a video review requested by Tauson on an Eala swing; a 10-point tie-break; and a moment of celebration by Eala after she hit a volley in the ninth game of the third set, where she appeared to have mouthed the Filipino curse word “Putangina” out of relief perhaps as her opponent was three points away from a win.
The “highly-partisan” crowd — as described by the U.S. Open website — who carried Eala throughout the match, much to the ire of Tauson, loved every second of the meeting that culminated in a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(11) win in favor of Eala.
But fans back home were more delighted by Eala’s endearing way of beating the nerves by gleefully swearing during a tense game. The 20-year-old once again won the Internet meme race, right after a playful video, where she lip-synced to a viral “Sumakses” video in response to a breakthrough Miami Open run in March.
In the words of Kris Jenner: “Go, Alex, go. Good job, Alex. You’re doing amazing, sweetie.” We can’t wait to see what stunts she pulls in the next round.
