MANILA, Philippines—Alex Eala’s Mutua Madrid Open 2025 campaign is off to a rousing—and somewhat familiar—start.

READ: Alex Eala relishes monumental win vs idol Iga Swiatek

Eala ousted World No. 64, Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, 6-3, 6-2, in her opening game in Madrid on Tuesday (Manila time), setting up a rematch against defending champion Iga Swiatek in the Round of 64.

Swiatek, currently the World’s No. 2, was one of Eala’s victims in her stellar run in the Miami Open 2025. The young Filipino tennis star upset Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5, in what was arguably the biggest win of her young career.

Swiatek, who is coming off a quarterfinals loss in the Stuttgart Open last weekend, earned a bye to the second round.

The victory is Eala’s second ever victory in Madrid, a WTA 1000-level tournament, after her win over then No. 41 Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in the 2024 main draw.

According to the WTA, Eala is the only player from the Philippines to have recorded a victory in the tournament–one of the top tier events on the WTA Tour.

Eala, the current World No. 72, is looking to put on a better showing on the clay courts following her early exit in the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal.

“My goals for this clay season, especially after Miami, are just to do better than last year, to improve my game on clay. It’s a shorter stretch compared to hard court, but I want to feel myself getting better and keeping the level,” Eala said in an interview after exiting in the round of 16 last week.

Eala has earned a main draw entry to this year’s French Open.