Iga Swiatek has identified the biggest reason for her shocking defeat to world No 140 Alex Eala in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Miami Open.
The world No 2 was stunned 6-2, 7-5 by the inspired Eala, 19-year-old Filipino wildcard, after an hour and 39 minutes at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Swiatek was broken in eight of her 10 service games as she suffered one of the biggest upsets in recent WTA memory.
Here is everything Swiatek said in her post-match press conference.
Impressed by Eala’s performance
“The fact that she was left-handed didn’t surprise me, but the truth is, she went all out. She made those returns quite long, and it wasn’t easy to return those shots. Plus, she was very relaxed and went all out. She felt the rhythm was good, and that helped her.
“I didn’t know she was going to play so flat, but she was very aggressive and stayed on target the whole match. And a lot of these shots were coming out of nowhere. But I could still clearly see that she was trying to push forward and pressure me. So it worked out pretty well for her.”
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On her improvement in the second set and whether she hopes Eala’s level would drop
“No, I wasn’t really thinking about her. I was just happy to feel a little better. But then again, I couldn’t sustain her game anyway. So I thought I was kind of back on my feet and feeling the game a little bit better. But I didn’t really think about her.”
The biggest key to the match
“I think it was just a really good return, and I wasn’t ready for the next ball. I’m sure I made a lot of mistakes, but I think I also made mistakes when I was crossing the ball.”
On her tough start to the season
“I don’t want to think about it too much. It’s good to learn from defeats, but yes, there are other things ahead, and I’m happy we’re going to be playing on clay now. I don’t know what it will be like this year, but I’m definitely going to work hard to be ready for the first tournaments.”
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