Alexandra Eala will play Laura Siegemund in her first match at the Miami Open this year.
Eala reached the Miami Open semifinals last year, in what was a breakthrough tournament for the Filipina.
One year later from this semifinal run, Eala is now one of the most popular players on the WTA Tour and a top 30 player.
As she returns to the Miami Open, Eala will take on WTA veteran Siegemund, who once left Coco Gauff visibly annoyed at the US Open.
Alexandra Eala’s opponent Laura Siegemund once annoyed Coco Gauff at the US Open
Eala has never played Siegemund before, but their first-time meeting was confirmed after the German beat Petra Marcinko in her first round match at the Miami Open.
Siegemund has been on the WTA Tour since 2006, and is a three-time Grand Slam doubles champion, but she has also been accused of some underhand tactics throughout her career.
This came under the spotlight at the 2023 US Open, where Siegemund played Gauff during her first round match.
Siegemund was taking a long time between service points, and only once received a time violation for going over the 25-second rule.
Gauff expressed her frustration towards the umpire, claiming that Siegemund had been over the time rule on multiple occasions.
The US Open crowd were also irritated by Siegemund’s behaviour, and after Gauff beat the German 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, she explained why she decided to approach the umpire about the situation, despite not liking confrontation.
“Yeah, I don’t know. It’s like a thing. I really don’t like confrontation all that much,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference at the time. “Yeah, I was thinking about it the whole match. I don’t know. I wasn’t sure if I was in the right or not until it, like, happened multiple times. Then I was like, Okay, I know I’m in the right.
“I think it just reached a point where I was just really frustrated. For me, I try my best not to let my emotions to take over myself. I wanted to express my frustration, but also being censored. I didn’t want any bombs to fly or anything. I was trying to best communicate how I was feeling to the referee.
“I think she understood. Maybe not. But, yeah, I think that certain situations like this, when it happens over and over, I’m not going to complain if it’s once or twice. It was at least seven times that I counted.
“Yeah, I’m usually not a player to confront, confrontations with refs and everything. I tried to explain that to her. I’m not a fast-paced player, I’m not Nick. I bounce the ball six times before I serve. I ask for three or four balls and I throw it back to the ball kids because I like to get the newest balls. I know how much time I’m taking and it’s a normal amount of time.”
Gauff would win the US Open that year, and she has only played Siegemund once since then at the Wuhan Open last year.
Siegemund also caused similar issues for Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon last year.
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How far will Alexandra Eala fall in the rankings if she loses to Laura Siegemund?
Eala will now have to deal with the tricky opponent that Siegemund can be in her first match at the Miami Open.
At 38 years old, Siegemund has enjoyed a resurgent season on the WTA Tour and is still a top 60 player.
Alexandra Eala will finish 2026 ranked — in the world
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Eala reached the semifinals of the Miami Open last year after beating the likes of Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys, and she is now at risk of dropping down the rankings.
If Siegemund manages to beat Eala, then she is confirmed to fall outside the top 40 in the WTA rankings and could even fall out of the top 50.
Eala will play Siegemund in her first match at the Miami Open on Thursday, March 19, with the winner potentially facing Swiatek.
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