Tennis world stunned by heartbreaking scenes as Aussie teenager does it again
Maya Joint will head to Wimbledon as the champion of Eastbourne after the Aussie teenager saved four championship points to win the WTA event on Saturday. Opponent Alexandra Eala was reduced to tears after going so close to glory, and the tears were also flowing when Iga Swiatek lost the Bad Homburg final to Jessica Pegula.
The 19-year-old Joint has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last 12 months, and captured her second WTA title on Saturday at Eastbourne on the south-east coast of England. The teenager saved a staggering four championship points to beat her fellow rising star Eala, who couldn't hide her devastation after the match.
The 20-year-old from the Philippines was in tears after the final point, and struggled to hold it all in during her runner-up speech. She went agonisingly close to becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour title.
"I want to congratulate Maya for a great match and great tournament," Eala said. "This is my first WTA final, it's a big deal for me and for my country too because it's historic. I guess that's also why I'm so emotional. Wimbledon is next week so hopefully I'll forget about this match soon."
The astonishing 6-4 1-6 7-6 (12-10) win rocketed Joint to No.41 in the world, and made her the first Australian to win the Eastbourne title in its 50-year history. "It's been an amazing year, an amazing two years," beamed Joint at Devonshire Park, while saluting Aussie coach Chris Mahony. "Thank you for everything you've done. You're a lifesaver."
Keep your head held high, Alex ❤️Eala celebrates a historic run for the Philippines with her first tour-level final. 🇵🇭👏#LexusEastbourneOpen pic.twitter.com/KQuI3zp4pj
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 28, 2025
Alexandra Eala💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔The pain of missing out on 4 championship points cuts deepBut she has so much to be proud ofWithin a matter of months, this 20 year old went from being unknown to becoming the pride of Filipino tennis🥹Keep going 🇵🇭❤️ pic.twitter.com/Ghg29doAeq
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 28, 2025
Joint kicks off her maiden Wimbledon campaign with a tough opener against Russian No.19 seed Liudmila Samsonova on Tuesday. She's part of a 17-strong Aussie contingent at the All England Club - the country's largest in 30 years.
"I'm very happy right now, feeling very relieved as well. It was a very difficult match. In that third set, and I'm proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match, even though I'd lost about nine of the last 10 games."
Joint won her first WTA title at the Morocco Open five weeks ago, which also came on the weekend before a grand slam. She was then knocked out in the first round of the French Open by compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic.
"It's really great preparation. I've got a lot of matches in before Wimbledon, and hopefully I can be in Wimbledon a little bit longer than I was in the French," she said. "I think this time's a tiny bit different. I get one more day of rest, and I'll just detach myself a little bit more from the last match, and just focus on the match coming up."
Swiatek was also in tears near the end of her loss to Pegula in Germany. Not known as a grass-court player, the five-time grand slam champ was playing her first final on the surface, but went down in straight sets 6-4 7-5.
It was also Swiatek's first final in 12 months since she lifted her fourth French Open trophy in 2024, and the emotions spilled out as the errors piled up in the second set. "This tournament shows there's hope for me on grass," she joked after wiping away the tears.
Pegula won her third title of the season, adding to her trophies in Austin (hard court) and Charleston (clay). The American now boasts nine career titles - with five coming in the last 12 months.
You feel for Iga #Swiatek at this point.Life has dealt her a rough hand for months now.But Iga is too good a player for this dry run to continue.Keep working on your game, Iga and you can still become the dominant #1 you once were 🥰pic.twitter.com/RgtEBVN6gd
— Vikash Kumar (@_Vikash) June 28, 2025
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