Former World No. 1 Mats Wilander makes bold comparison between rising star Alexandra Eala and John McEnroe

The Miami Open delivered surprises and showcased potential new stars on the tennis circuit. On the men’s side, Jakub Mensik claimed his first Masters 1000 title, while on the women’s side, Philippine teenager Alexandra Eala emerged as one of the tournament’s revelations. Following her impressive run, former World No. 1 Mats Wilander drew an intriguing comparison between Eala and John McEnroe.

“With Alexandra Eala, we’re talking about someone who has hands given by God. She understands the game as well as any player on tour,” Wilander, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, told TNT Sports.

“The talent is just boiling out of the fingers and boiling out of her hand, and she can do anything. In the women’s game, that is so cool that we have someone who does all these things that maybe [Aryna] Sabalenka and [Iga] Swiatek are not great at doing,” he explained.

“They’re great at other things. But suddenly, we have a player who plays tennis in a way that seems mystical to the rest of us. Like, ‘Oh, my God, how do you do that? How do you understand tennis? How do you hit those shots?’ The feel, the understanding. I love it. It’s basically what John McEnroe did to us in the 1980s,” he concluded.

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Alexandra Eala’s breakthrough at the Miami Open

Following her run to the Miami Open semifinals, Eala has broken into the WTA top 100 for the first time in her career. She is currently ranked No. 75 with 894 points, making history as the first woman from the Philippines to enter the WTA Tour’s top 100.

By reaching the semifinals, Eala matched Justine Henin (2010) and Victoria Azarenka (2018) for the best result by a wild card at the Miami Open since the tournament’s inception. Her impressive run included victories over Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek.

However, she fell to Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. Still, at just 19 years old, Eala has already begun making her mark. With Wilander’s bold assessment of her talent, the tennis world will be watching closely to see what she accomplishes next.