LONDON — The 2024 Wimbledon Championships delivered two stunning upsets on Saturday, as the women’s singles draw saw both the defending title holder and the 2022 champion crash out in the third round, headlined by a historic breakthrough from 21-year-old Alexandra Eala that makes tennis history for the Philippines.
Eala’s career-best run at the All England Club reached a new high when she knocked out world No. 3 Iga Swiatek, ending the Pole’s 2023 title defense with a tight 7-6(9), 6-2 victory on Centre Court. The result is far more than a personal upset win: Eala is now the first player from the Philippines, regardless of gender, to advance to the fourth round of any Grand Slam singles tournament in the sport’s history.
After sealing the win with a forehand winner on her third match point, the left-handed Eala dropped to her knees in disbelief before rolling onto the grass of Centre Court, overwhelmed by the moment. Speaking in an on-court interview surrounded by fans waving Philippine flags, she paid tribute to the support that has carried her to this point.
“It’s incredible to have my countrymen cheering me on and knowing that we’re all in this together,” Eala said. “This goes out to them, this goes out to my family, this goes out to all the little girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks. It means the world.” The young rising star earned her upset after a tense first-set tiebreak, where she saved two set points to clinch the opening set before closing out the match in straight sets.
Swiatek came into this year’s tournament as the red-hot defending champion, having claimed her first Wimbledon title last year with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 blowout of Amanda Anisimova in the 2023 final. This is not the first time Eala has gotten the better of the world No. 3: the 21-year-old, who trains at Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca, first announced her arrival on the global stage last year with a breakthrough run to the Miami Open semifinals that included an earlier upset win over Swiatek.
Eala’s historic upset was not the only shocking result of the day. Just minutes before Swiatek exited the tournament, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina suffered an equally lopsided third-round exit at the hands of Belgium’s Elise Mertens, falling 7-6(4), 6-1. As the No. 2 seed in the women’s draw, Rybakina is the highest-seeded player to be eliminated from this year’s women’s singles competition. Her early exit guarantees that Aryna Sabalenka will retain her world No. 1 ranking after the conclusion of the tournament.
Mertens, the No. 25 seed at this year’s Wimbledon who already holds two Wimbledon doubles titles, will face off against four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round on Sunday.
In other injury-related Wimbledon news on Saturday, 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams announced her withdrawal from the women’s doubles draw, where she was set to compete alongside her sister Venus Williams. The 44-year-old Williams, who made her competitive singles comeback earlier this week, suffered a right knee injury during her singles match, forcing her to pull out of the doubles draw.
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Williams shared in an Instagram post, confirming the news that ends the Williams sisters’ latest doubles run at the tournament.