Iga Swiatek Completes Revenge Tour on Alex Eala in Madrid

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

World no. 2 female tennis player Iga Swiatek responded like how five-time Grand Slam winners do after getting back at Filipina teen ace Alex Eala during their highly-anticipated rematch on April 24, 2025.

After absorbing a stunning defeat at the hands of the younger Eala during the Miami Open, Swiatek was all eyes on the prize and completed her revenge in the Round of 64 stage of the Madrid Open- 4.6, 6.4, 6.2- at the Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain.

Swiatek is coming off a slump after also dropping her quarterfinal game during the Stuttgart Open against Jelena Ostapenko. Her rematch against Eala became the benchmark for her recovery meter.

Eala roared first in the match after scoring an early break point, which put the pressure on the more experienced Swiatek.

Just like their first encounter, Eala’s quick on-the-rise forehand stroke became a major problem for Swiatek that kept her on the back foot for the majority of the opening set.

However, what killed Swiatek’s chances the most were her unforced errors that just piled up in the first set. Midway through the frame when Eala made a run, the Polish star amassed a series of fumbled possessions that allowed the 19-year-old prodigy to take a 1-0 lead.

The early minutes of the following set looked like a replay of the first as Eala quickly scored a breakpoint that put the crowd on their feet.

Just when everyone thought that Eala could pound her way through the match after the momentum-boosting break, Swiatek’s poise under pressure rose to the occasion as she countered with a break point of her own to equalize the playing field.

From that moment, Swiatek slowly clawed her way back into the match and adjusted well with Eala’s deep baseline top-spin strokes.

As part of her mid-game strategy tweaking, Swiatek no longer waited for Eala’s forehand to bounce higher and picked up her contact point when the ball was about to bounce high.

Aside from that crucial adjustment, Swiatek no longer had an unforced error slump and flipped the switch until the final set.

It was all Swiatek in the third as the clay court queen broke Eala twice and banked on her consistent inside and outside attack to repel the tough challenge from the Filipina.

“I understand that there’s hype about these young players, but you have got to be focused on yourself. Honestly, I didn’t realize it, I had better things to think about. When you’re not starting well it sometimes takes a little bit more time to find your game, but then I did so I’m glad,” Swiatek said during the post-game interview.