Alexandra Eala remains upbeat despite suffering a heavy loss to Karolina Muchova at the Miami Open.
Eala has “warmed up” to playing big events more regularly as she climbs the WTA rankings, where she is currently in her career-high.
The 20-year-old is 29th in the world rankings, and enjoyed a strong start to the Miami Open before being dealt a blow by Muchova.
Muchova stunned Eala 6-0, 6-2 in the round of 16, with the Czech ace now preparing for a semifinal against Coco Gauff.
Eala should hold her head high despite the defeat, which she is clearly doing thanks to her latest social media message.
Alexandra Eala will finish 2026 ranked — in the world
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Alexandra Eala still loves Miami Open despite heavy defeat
Eala posted on her Instagram after exiting the WTA 1000 event: “I can confirm, Miami’s still the best.
“I’ll always have a special place in my heart for this tournament. First Sunshine Double done!”
Of course, she has every reason to still feel plenty of love for the Miami Open, with Eala enjoying another important run overall.
However, she’ll undoubtedly have more memorable feelings from her 2025 exploits, when she made it all the way to the semifinals as a wildcard.
She knocked out Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko – all former Grand Slam champions – before losing to Jessica Pegula.
The Filipina superstar was ranked all the way down in 140th at the time, when she truly introduced herself to the sport.
Alexandra Eala enjoys successful Sunshine Double debut
As always, it’s a positive attitude from Eala, who deserves big praise for adopting that approach after such a public loss.
She is constantly under the spotlight thanks to her huge fanbase, who are still waiting for their star to clinch her first WTA title.
That puts big pressure on her young shoulders, but true fans will be fully aware that time and patience are needed for Eala to finally get over the line.
Unlike Miami, she was making her debut at Indian Wells this year, where again she can be very proud of her efforts.
Eala also made it to the round of 16 in California before being knocked out by another Czech player, Linda Noskova.
| Score | Indian Wells | Miami Open | Score | |
| – | Bye | First round | Bye | – |
| 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 | Dayana Yastremska | Second round | Laura Siegemund | 6-7(6-8), 6-3, 6-3 |
| 6-2, 2-0 (Walkover) | Coco Gauff | Third round | Magda Linette | 6-3, 7-6(7-2) |
| 2-6, 0-6 | Linda Noskova | Last 16 | Karolina Muchova | 0-6, 2-6 |
Overall it has been a successful Sunshine Double, and the Filipina icon should take confidence from her appearances at the high-profile events going into the clay season.
Eala will play at the Linz Open first up, with the WTA 500 tournament getting underway in Austria at the start of April.
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