Eala is the first woman from the Philippines to win a Slam match

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, reacts after defeating Clara Tauson, of Denmark, during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, yesterday (Macau time)

Alexandra Eala became the first woman representing the Philippines to win a Grand Slam match, doing so at the U.S. Open by defeating No. 14 seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) yesterday (Macau time) after coming back from a 5-1 deficit in the third set and getting some help from a key video review decision that flustered Tauson.

“I was playing really bad, anyway. But it definitely didn’t help,” Tauson told The Associated Press. “But that’s how life is.”

Eala is a 20-year-old who is ranked 75th and trains at the Rafael Nadal Academy. This was her fourth win against a top-20 opponent in 2025, including against Iga Swiatek in March en route to the Miami Open semifinals.

Her milestone victory yesterday for the Philippines meant a lot to Eala.

“I’m so blessed to be the first to do this. I take so much pride in representing my country,” she said. “It makes what I do bigger than myself.”

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 U.S. 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 was a lengthy delay before action resumed, though, with Tauson complaining and telling Nouni: “Look at the ball. What is your opinion about this? What is your opinion?”

Some in the stands booed her.

“I don’t need to watch it again. (It was an) incorrect call. My coach said the same. Physio said the same. And especially if my coach says that, I know that I’m not in the wrong, because he’s often telling me I’m wrong,” Tauson said with a hint of a laugh in an interview a little more than a half-hour after the match ended. “So I have nothing else to say, other than it’s an incorrect decision. I don’t know we can do that with VR. I don’t know how that’s even possible.”

Even after his decision was made clear to all, Tauson took some extra time before hitting her next serve, standing with both hands on her hips at the baseline. Eventually, Tauson double-faulted, making it 5-all and drawing a rowdy reaction from a crowd that was loudly supporting Eala.

“The whole stadium was with her, so I’m sure the umpire felt pressure,” Tauson said.

That gave Eala 16 of 21 points in that span, and soon she was one away from victory. Took a bit longer, though: In the end, she needed five match points to close out the win after more than 2 1/2 hours.

When Tauson sent one last forehand long, Eala dropped to her back on the court, chest heaving, and covered her face with both hands.

“I was just so over the moon,” Eala said, “and it was just such a rush of emotions.” MDT/AP