No player in the women’s draw has defended a title at the Championships, and the trend continues. Alexandra Eala, playing the farthest stage of her Grand Slam career, produced a performance that toppled the defending champion on Center Court, beating Iga Swiatek 7-6, 6-2 to become the first Filipino player in the Open Era to reach the second week of a Slam. Eala was up a triple break in the second set and serving for the match, a game that stretched past 12 minutes before she finally converted on her third match point.

The scale of the moment overwhelmed her afterwards. Asked how it felt to have just beaten the defending champion, Eala struggled to find the words.

“I don’t know how to describe it. I’m in the second week of a slam. It’s amazing for me. Iga is a phenomenal player and a really nice person. I’m really grateful to be able to share Center Court with her at Wimbledon,” she said, before breaking down in tears. 

“I’m really emotional. Maybe for someone like Iga who’s won so many slams, or someone like Serena or Venus, this achievement may seem small, but for someone who grew up in the Philippines… I went to train with my brother and grandfather every day after school with my ruffled socks and shoes and my chubby cheeks. To her, this is everything.”

The result capped a season that had been building towards exactly this kind of breakthrough. Eala was the 29th seed coming into the tournament with a career-high ranking this year and a grass swing that saw her win a WTA 125 title in Birmingham and advance to the semis in Berlin, beating two top ten players. Getting past Swiatek required first surviving a three-set battle with Maya Joint in the previous round, a win that came just days after Joint had knocked out a returning Serena Williams. 

This rivalry has a history as well. Eala beat Swiatek during her breakthrough run to the Miami semi-finals last year, only for the Pole to exact revenge a month later in Madrid. Wimbledon has now settled the score in Filipina’s favor again, and on a considerably bigger stage than either of their previous meetings. The 21-year-old’s next assignment is about to test just how far this run can go.

Alexandra Eala faces Jasmine Paolini in the next round

The test is taking the form of Jasmine Paolini, who has been taking her own slow-burn emotional journey back to form. The Italian dismantled Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour to reach the second week. It marks Paolini’s second-best Wimbledon performance to date, behind only her run to the 2024 final. 

Paolini was open about how much the win meant given the year she has had. “The last few months have been quite tough. I’m happy with how I played, facing Sakkari is tough. Last time I lost to her, this time I enjoyed myself on court and it’s a beautiful feeling,” she said. 

“This year has been a rollercoaster, I got injured in Paris, I arrived here without expectations. I’m happy, I hope to play another good match.” 

The injury she suffered during her clay season had left her split from Sara Errani at the French Open, so her return to the second week at Wimbledon felt like a redemption, more than just a routine run-up. She withdrew from the doubles draw again here to protect her body for this singles run. 

The match-up between Eala and Paolini could be one of the more interesting ones remaining in the draw, a clash between a rising force chasing history and a former finalist rediscovering hers.