Friday, March 28, 2025

Teens crash Sunshine Double in an unexpected spring break

On the one hand, it shouldn't have been a total surprise that 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva won Indian Wells. After all, she'd just won Dubai. But--it doesn't happen very often that anyone, let alone a breakthrough teenager, wins two tournaments in a row--not to mention, two 1000 tournaments in a row. But she did it. In Indian Wells, Andreeva defeated Varvara Gracheva, 22nd seed and Dubai runner-up Clara Tauson (quite a teen in her own right), 7th seed Elena Rybakina, 23rd seed Elina Svitolina, 2nd seed Iga Swiatek, and top seed and world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka. And--until she got to the two top seeds, she didn't drop a set.

In Miami, Andreeva defeated Veronika Kudermetova in the second round, but then fell to 17th seed Amanda Anisimova. But that drama paled compared with the exploits of another teenager. 2022 U.S. Open junior champion Alexandra Eala, ranking number 140 in the world, entered Miami as a wild card, and she apparently took the "wild" part seriously. Eala defeated Katie Volynets, 25th seed and former French Open champion Alona Ostapenko, 5th seed and 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys, and 2nd seed Iga Swiatek. All in straight sets. She was finally stopped, in the semifinals, by 4th seed Jessica Pegula, but Pegula had to work really hard to win that match (7-6, 5-7, 6-3). 

19-year-old Eala doesn't have much of a serve, yet she knocked out three major champions in a 1000 tournament. All I could think of, while watching her, was: "What's going to happen when her serve improves?" Her shot repertoire is impressive, and her court intelligence is keen. And obviously, no one scares her.

When the match with Pegula was over, Eala didn't exit to loud cheers; she sat on the bench, smiling broadly, and soaking in the crowd's adoration. This was especially notable because Pegula, a very well-liked player, lives an hour from Miami--and had just won the match. The crowd was indeed appreciative of the hometown player, but they were simply in awe of Eala, who is the first Philipina to contest in a tour semifinal, and to enter the top 100.

Both Sabalenka and Swiatek were knocked out by these two teenagers; Swiatek lost to both of them, (and Sabalenka lost to Tauson in straight sets in Dubai). These kids aren't poking at the WTA's elite--they're just out-and-out coming for them. Stay tuned.

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