Alex Eala tops Maya Joint, reaches historic Wimbledon third round

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala continues to play her best tennis yet, making history with a breakthrough third-round appearance at Wimbledon.

Eala crawled her way back from a tough first-set loss to beat Maya Joint of Australia with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win in their second-round duel on Thursday night (Philippine time).

The Filipino tennis ace had to break through six deuces in both the first and third games of the deciding set to take a commanding 3-0 lead.

Eala continued to dominate the next two games, especially the fifth, where she blanked Joint to move within a game of the match, 5-0.

The pride of the Philippines completed the shutout, denying Joint a single game despite the Australian taking a 40-30 lead in the final game. Joint committed costly errors, allowing Eala to book her first third-round appearance in a Grand Slam.

She is the only player from the country to advance this far in any Grand Slam tournament in the Open era.

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“I really had to dig deep, especially after that first set. Maya came out on fire, she came out ready, and I was expecting a really good match, of course, with competed within some very good conditions before, so I was prepared for a good match,” said Eala.

“She obviously is coming off an amazing win. I watched it, and I think she played really well and handled herself really well in that situation. So, congratulations to Maya. Knowing that, I really had to dig deep.”

Eala battles defending champion Iga Swiatek in Round 3 on Saturday.

Despite a lethargic first set, Eala stayed within striking distance, trailing 4-3 before Joint regained control in the eighth game to move within a game of the opener. The Filipino leveled the ninth game at deuce, but her next forehand sailed long before Joint capitalized on an open court to take the set.

The Rafa Nadal Academy graduate exacted a sweet revenge on the 20-year-old Joint after a heartbreaking three-set loss in the 2025 Eastbourne Open final.

“It’s funny. We had an insane match here at Eastbourne, and I lost, and it hit me quite hard. I cried a lot, and I don’t think I was able to watch those highlights for a couple of months. I think I improved a lot in this past year, and I’m happy that I’m able to look back at that loss, and I’m able to smile. Extra motivation to win for sure,” Eala said.

Eala continued to thrive on the grass courts, kicking off her second Wimbledon campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Renata Zarazua of Mexico.

Seeded in a Grand Slam competition for the first time at 29th, Eala is making a deeper run since her breakthrough win in the US Open last year.

Eala is also scheduled to compete in the doubles tournament with Nikola Bartunkova against Jeļena Ostapenko and Sofia Kenin.

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