Two teenage wild cards, Alexandra Eala and Victoria Mboko, made a serious impression against seeded opponents in the Miami Open second round. Eala, 19, scored the biggest win of her career to date, upsetting No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(2), 7-5. Mboko, 18, came tantalizingly close to joining her but was edged 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(3) by No. 10 seed Paula Badosa.

Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play

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Eala has been in the spotlight for so long already that it's hard to believe she is still a teenager. She's been a trailblazer for the Philippines, a country with little tennis tradition at the pro level to speak of, ever since she won the 2018 Les Petits As, the prestigious U14 tournament in Tarbes, France. In 2021, she became the first Filipina to win a WTA main-draw match when she defeated Paula Ormaechea in Cluj-Napoca. In 2022, she also made history for her country by winning the US Open junior title, and graced the cover of Vogue Philippines in the same year.

Eala's steady progress has seen her work her way up to No. 140 in the PIF WTA Rankings this week, but her defeat of Ostapenko marks two important new milestones -- her first Top 30 win and the first time she has won consecutive matches at tour level. Eala had to display real fortitude to come through two rollercoaster sets, too.

Ostapenko is usually the one navigating wild scoreline swings, but on Friday it was her younger opponent who handled the match’s momentum better. Eala was initially overpowered, but managed to come from 4-0 down to steal the opening set. Demonstrating first-strike ability of her own on the return while Ostapenko's radar went awry, the left-hander eased out to a 4-0 lead of her own in the second set.

Ostapenko can rarely be counted out and came up with a succession of scintillating winners to reel off five straight games, reaching set point at 5-4. But Eala fended it off, and ended Ostapenko's purple patch with a three-game run of her own to seal victory.

Badosa survives teenage wild card Mboko in three-set Miami thriller

Mboko came into her match with Badosa boasting a 28-1 record in 2025. The Canadian, a former Top 10 junior, has won five ITF titles and cut her ranking from No. 333 to No. 162 in less than three months, then notched her first tour-level win over Camila Osorio in the first round. But Badosa was a test at a whole new level -- the first time she had faced an opponent in the Top 50.

The Spaniard was pushed all the way in a 2-hour, 19-minute battle -- particularly in a third set in which Mboko came from 5-2 down to level at 5-5. Mboko's blistering backhand and deft volleys had already delivered highlights, and in the decider she demonstrated a never-say-die attitude as well. Badosa -- who has plenty of that spirit herself -- had to come up with some of her best tennis, including a pair of remarkable backhand passes, to come through the deciding tiebreak.