Last month in Miami, the tennis sensation Alexandra Eala emerged as a promising new talent. Before making her way to her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal, she ousted former World No.1 and five-time slam queen Iga Swiatek. “I’m in complete disbelief right now,” said 23-year-old after pulling off the biggest win of her career. The memories of their maiden face-off, in the QF, are still fresh as Eala dominated the Pole in straight sets with a score line of 6-2, 7-5. And guess what? It’s time for a rematch! On Thursday, Swiatek and Eala will meet once again – this time in Madrid. Now the question is: will the defending Madrid Open champion take her revenge?

Alexandra Eala v Iga Swiatek: Preview

Alexandra Eala’s 2025 season has been mostly impressive. Back in January, she started the year on a great note, reaching the semifinal of the Canberra International before losing to China’s Sijia Wei. Then her next major event came in the form of the Miami Open, where the Filipino scripted history.

She succeeded in making it to the SF round of the WTA 1000 event before her campaign ended in a tight match with Jessica Pegula. The latter won the first set, but Eala stunned her in the next one, pushing the result into a decider. Pegula managed to emerge victorious at last with a score line of 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3. Thanks to a phenomenal run in Miami, Eala also became the first WTA player from Philippines to break into the top 100.

Coming into the Madrid Open, Eala began her campaign in style on Wednesday. She beat Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in straight sets with a score line of 6-3, 6-2 to seal her spot in R64.

Speaking of her opponent and five-time slam winner, Iga Swiatek’s 2025 season has been amazing but without a title. At the Australian Open, she looked in great touch and a potential winner too. But her campaign ended in the SF stage after losing against eventual AO champion Madison Keys. In her next event, too, she made it to the last four, in Doha, but lost against a formidable opponent, Jelena Ostapenko. Then at the Dubai Tennis Championships, she managed to enter the QF before losing to the eventual winner, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva.

In Indian Wells, she entered as a defending champion and even made it to the SF, but failed to enter the summit clash. Here, too, eventual winner Andreeva halted her journey, 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3. At the Miami Open, the Pole managed to reach the last eight but faced a shocking exit, owing to a straight-set defeat against Alexandra Eala. In her last tournament, at the Stuttgart Open last week, Swiatek was ousted in the QF after losing to Ostapenko – once again. The latter has now extended her h2h tally to 6-0 against the former World No.1

Eala v Swiatek: Head-to-Head

Both players have faced each other only once at a professional WTA event. Currently, Eala leads the h2h tally 1-0.

• 2025 Miami Open QF: Eala 6-2, 7-5

Prediction: Alexandra Eala to win in three sets

When it comes to singles stats, Iga Swiatek has got an edge over Alexandra Eala, having won 18 of her 24 matches so far. However, the Filipino has got a better win percentage of 81.8, having won 9 out of her 11 encounters in major WTA events. But what about their event history?

Well, Swiatek shines in this department. She is the defending champion of Madrid Open. Last season, she beat World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6. Prior to her title triumph, she reached the summit clash at the 2023 Madrid Open, but missed the trophy against Sabalenka.

On the other hand, Eala has only played twice in Madrid. In her last two appearances (2023 and 2024), she couldn’t impress much. The Filipino was ousted in R128 and R64, respectively.

Now coming onto their playing styles, Swiatek has got an aggressive approach. She’s an all-court player and prefers to utilize variations in her performance. She emphasizes a lot on offense while delivering solid winners. Not to mention her impressive backhand and lethal forehand strokes. She’s also got skills to hit perfect volleys in order to gain points over the net.

On the other hand, left-handed Eala relies a lot on her powerful backhand. She’s also tactically smart, having the much-needed court awareness to adjust movement between the net and baseline. Her amazing athleticism provides an extra edge in order to be swift against her opponents.

While Swiatek is the defending champion in Madrid and has a better overall form and stats this season, she’s not carrying the winning momentum. She’s going to enter Thursday’s match on the back of a defeat in Stuttgart last week. On the other hand, Eala must be oozing with confidence after starting her campaign on a winning note in Madrid. Plus, she’s also leading the h2h tally against the Pole at the moment.

The former World No.1 will pose a tough challenge, but given the current circumstances, Alexandra Eala is likely to win the R64 in three sets while extending her domination over the Pole.