After her Cinderella run in the Miami Open last month, Alex Eala has taken her act to the clay courts, and she’ll look to recreate her shocking run in the Madrid Open. The world No. 72 won her Round of 128 match in the WTA 1000 event against Viktoriya Tomova in straight sets, and she’ll face a familiar opponent in the Round of 64.
The 19-year-old star will face Iga Swiatek in the next round, whom she defeated the last time they met in South Beach. Despite what happened in their previous encounter, the SBOTOP Madrid Open 2025 odds are stacked against Eala since Swiatek is the tournament’s defending champion.
Meanwhile, Jelena Ostapenko is in fine form heading into the tournament, and she’ll aim to go higher in the WTA rankings with another deep run here in Madrid. The same can’t be said for Naomi Osaka, who recently suffered another setback.
Stopping Swiatek will be easier said than done for Eala
Iga Swiatek is still looking for her first title this year and hopes to get it in Madrid. The Polish international was supposed to do it in the Miami Open but was stopped by Eala in straight sets in the quarter-finals.
During the Stuttgart Open, Swiatek breezed past Jana Fett in the Round of 16 but was stopped again by Jelena Ostapenko – her sixth consecutive loss against the Latvian – causing her to drop 87 points. Because of her recent setbacks, Swiatek trails world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka by 3,385 points.
The good news for Swiatek is that she has been historically dominant in Madrid, boasting a 13-2 record at the WTA 1000 event. In her title run last year, she only dropped two sets in her six matches en route to winning it all. Swiatek had been in the Madrid Open final in the past two years.
After her semi-final run in Miami, Eala rose to 72nd in the WTA rankings and entered the Oeiras Open as the top-seeded player. Though she notched a straight sets win over Anouk Koevermans in the Round of 32, her tournament in Portugal ended in the Round of 16 with a narrow loss to Panna Udvardy.
Eala’s main objective is to get positive Madrid Open 2025 results since doing so will help her stay within the Top 100, which means more invites to high-level competitions, including the French Open next month.
Ostapenko hopes to keep it going
Jelena Ostapenko was also one of Alex Eala’s victims during the Miami Open. However, since then, Ostapenko has been in great form heading into Madrid. After an early exit in the Charleston Open Round of 16, the 27-year-old won the Stuttgart Open while making history. Ostapenko joined a select group of elite women alongside Serena Williams, Gabriela Sabatini, Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated the world No. 1 and No. 2 in a clay event.
“Honestly, I didn’t tell anyone, but I felt confident since the first day. I had a strange feeling in a good way,” Ostapenko said in Stuttgart following her victory.
“When I came here, I felt like something’s going to happen… I pretty much felt that I can win this tournament. I think I’m improving day by day and I’m playing better and better. I think I deserve it,” she added.
The Latvian went up six notches in the WTA rankings after conquering Stuttgart. Ostapenko is now 18th and could surpass Elina Svitolina if she makes another deep run in the Madrid Open. Besides competing in women’s singles, Ostapenko will also play in women’s doubles alongside Hsieh Su-Wei.
Another early exit for Osaka
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka crashed out in the first round of Madrid with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat against Lucia Bronzetti. The Japanese former world No. 1 entered the WTA 1000 event as the 55th seed. After dropping the opening set, Osaka bounced back in the second but fell short against her determined Italian counterpart.
Osaka is still finding her form after a 15-month hiatus and last played at the Miami Open last month. You have to feel for her since she has been through a lot since winning the 2018 US Open. Osaka has been dealing with depression, gave birth to a daughter, and broke up with the biological father of her child earlier this year.
Her early exit in the Madrid Open could give her ample time to recharge her batteries ahead of the Italian Open next month. But, with the way things are going, Osaka may never be able to return from her fall from grace.
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