Jessica Pegula ends Alexandra Eala Miami fairytale in semifinals

Jessica Pegula ended Alexandra Eala’s fairytale run at the Miami Open, overcoming the teenaged wild card, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3.

The fourth-seeded Pegula withstood an inspiring challenge from Eala, who, earlier this week, became the first player from the Philippines to defeat a Top 10 player since the WTA rankings began in 1975, to ultimately reach her first final at the Hard Rock Stadium in two hours and 26 minutes early Friday morning.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will be Pegula’s opponent in the final after Sabalenka dominated Jasmine Paolini in straight sets earlier in the day.

Eala had become the story of the tournament with her run to the semifinals, scoring wins over both reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former No. 1 Iga Swiatek, defeating the pair in straight sets. The 19-year-old had indeed come a long way from the youngster who grew up practicing on a basketball court with her brother Miko.

“They had to paint their own lines,” explained Tennis Channel analyst and former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, who praised Eala's “energy and attitude” throughout the contest.

Eala went on to graduate from the Rafael Nadal Academy, a milestone for which both Nadal and Swiatek were present, and cap her junior career with a girl’s singles title at the 2022 US Open.

The teenager maintained her blistering pace early on against Pegula, who finished runner-up at the US Open last summer, carving out a quick a 5-2 lead. Twice a semifinalist in Miami (2022, 2023), Pegula needed three sets to survive 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and found her flat hitting neutralized by Eala’s counterpunching as she twice lost serve in the first seven games.

Eala looked to have the opening set wrapped up when she earned a set point but nerves appeared to seize the youngster when she struck consecutive double faults to hand the initiative back to Pegula.

Pegula channeled her experience into an impressive comeback, winning five of the next six games to squeak out the opening set in a tiebreaker. Eala began to struggle physically after a fall led to a left ankle injury that required a medical timeout.

Eala played brave tennis from a break down in the second set, storming through the next three games to turn the tables on Pegula and emerge with a break lead of her own. Pegula wrested momentum back when she won eight of nine points from 30-0 down to break Eala straight back, capitalizing on some loose shots from the young phenom to put herself back in front.

From serving to stay in the match, Eala had one more surprise when she stormed into a deciding set, converting her second set point as Pegula missed wide.

Eala kept the pressure on early in the third, creating multiple openings on Pegula's serve as the clock ticked past midnight. Pegula held firm and soon had an opening of her own in the eighth game, outrallying Eala to earn a break point.

The American converted when Eala missed forehand wide, and though Eala saved a match point, Pegula earned a second thanks to some excellent touch at the net. A final miss from Eala put Pegula over the finish line and into the championship match.

Despite the disappointment, Eala earned thunderous applause from the crowd as she soaked in a revelatory week at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Pegula will now face the uphill challenge of winning only her third match against Sabalenka in eight previous attempts; her last win over the top seed came in Cancun during the 2023 WTA Finals.