New Delhi, July 2 -- Alexandra Eala etched her name in Philippine sports history on Thursday by becoming the first Filipino woman to reach the third round of a Grand Slam. The 29th seed delivered a composed comeback to beat Maya Joint 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the second round at Wimbledon 2026.

What began as a rematch of last year's Eastbourne final turned into a statement performance that pushed Eala into the last 32 at the All England Club for the first time in her career. The victory also marked her strongest showing yet at Wimbledon and set up a nail-biting third-round clash with world No. 3 Iga Swiatek.

The pair had met only once before, in the Eastbourne final just over a year ago. Maya Joint won that three-set thriller 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(10) ...