Alex Eala has made Filipino tennis history at Wimbledon.
Eala, the 29th seed in south-west London, became the first Filipino in tennis history to reach the third round of a Grand Slam singles event after beating Maya Joint.
Eala avenged her loss to Joint in the 2025 Eastbourne Open final, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 on Court Three.
The Filipina, 21, has set up an enticing match against defending champion Iga Swiatek in the third round.
Venus Williams, who recently competed alongside Eala in doubles, has sent the Filipina a message following her historic triumph on Thursday.
Venus Williams congratulates Alex Eala on her historic Wimbledon victory
“Congrats to my other doubles partner Alex Eala for making history,” Venus said in a post on her Instagram story.
The message was accompanied by a video of Eala’s winning moment from Thursday afternoon.
“Yeah, I really had to dig deep, especially after that first set,” Eala said on court after her victory.
“Like you said, Maya came out on fire, she came out ready, and, um, I was expecting a really good match, of course. We’ve competed in some very good conditions before, so I was prepared for a good match.
“She obviously is coming off an amazing win. I watched it, and, you know, I think she played really well, handled herself really well in that situation. So, congratulations to Maya.”
Eala and Venus competed alongside one another at the Bad Homburg Open earlier this month.
The duo won their first match, beating Alexandra Osborne and Catherine Harrison 6-3, 6-4.
The blockbuster duo were then defeated by second seeds Olivia Nicholls and Tereza Mihalikova, 3-6, 2-6.
