Alex Eala made her countrymen proud again with her historic achievement in the 2025 US Open. By outlasting world No. 14 Clara Tauson in three sets, Eala became the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam singles match. The 20-year-old is now 75th in the updated WTA rankings, and she awaits her second-round opponent.
Eala was not the only Asian player who made history in Flushing Meadows, as Janice Tjen also defied the US Open 2025 odds by defeating Veronika Kudermetova in the first round earlier today. The 23-year-old Indonesian went through a gauntlet in the qualifiers, beating Varvara Lepchenko, Maja Chwalinska, and Aoi Ito in her wake before making it this far into the Grand Slam.
Meanwhile, there are no upsets this time for world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, as the reigning Flushing Meadows champion won over Rebeka Masarova in the first round.
Check out the latest US Open 2025 updates, courtesy of today’s SBOTOP recap.
Eala survives three-set thriller against Tauson
Alex Eala notched a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) over Clara Tauson yesterday to advance to the second round of the US Open for the first time in her budding professional career. The 20-year-old needed two hours and 36 minutes to dispatch her Top 15 counterpart.
Earlier this year, Eala broke into the tennis mainstream at the Miami Open, as she reached the semi-finals after surviving a murderer’s row of opponents in Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek before falling short against Jessica Pegula. And in her return to the United States, she picked up where she left off.
After trading holds through the first four games, Eala broke Tauson for a 3-2 edge and eventually took the opening set. However, Tauson bounced back in the second set.
Tauson raced to a 5-1 lead in the third set and was poised for a routine victory. But Eala fought her way back, breaking Tauson twice while the Dane was serving for the match, the second break coming after a double fault on break point (which triggered a video review). Tauson forced a third-set tiebreak after saving a match point. She rallied from an 8-4 deficit and saved three more match points, but that wasn’t enough to deny Eala her first Grand Slam victory.
Eala, who aims to reach the third round, is up against either Cristina Bucsa or Claire Liu in the second round.
Tjen also made history in Flushing Meadows
Janice Tjen upset world No. 24 Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday, making her the first Indonesian player to win a Grand Slam singles match in more than two decades. Angelique Widjaja was the last Indonesian player to win a match back at the 2004 US Open.
Tjen came into the Grand Slam 55-10 this year, as she mostly played in lower-level matches. After taking the opening set, she blew a 3-1 lead in the second set, but bounced back in the final set, finishing the match in two hours and 11 minutes with a sublime backhand volley.
Up next for Tjen is Emma Raducanu, who is coming off a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ena Shibahara in the first round. This was Raducanu’s first US Open win since conquering the competition four years ago at the expense of Leylah Fernandez. Wednesday marks the first-ever meeting between Tjen and Raducanu.
“It’s going to be — well, my first thought is just, like, it’s going to be a big crowd, I would say, a bigger crowd playing against her,” Tjen said about facing Raducanu. “She’s a very well-known player, and I’m just excited for the opportunity.”
Sabalenka’s title defence off to a positive start
Aryna Sabalenka is motivated to become the first woman since Serena Williams to win back-to-back in the US Open, as her top spot is in jeopardy. It’s been almost a year since Sabalenka overtook Iga Swiatek for the top ranking. But, considering the circumstances, her lead over the Pole could shrink dramatically.
Sabalenka is defending 2,000 points in New York. If she doesn’t reach the quarter-finals, either Swiatek or Coco Gauff could move to No. 1 by winning the title. However, if she does, Sabalenka would hold the top spot regardless of the other results.
This was probably on the back of Sabalenka’s mind when she won 7-5, 6-1 against Rebeka Masarova in the first round. Sabalenka converted five of six break opportunities, compared to Masarova’s one of five. She also had 19 winners against 15 unforced errors and needed only 81 minutes to win the contest.
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