{"id":1835597,"date":"2026-03-19T20:30:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835597"},"modified":"2026-03-19T20:30:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:30:51","slug":"alex-eala-avoids-major-rankings-blow-after-dispute-with-opponent-in-marathon-miami-open-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835597","title":{"rendered":"Alex Eala avoids major rankings blow after dispute with opponent in marathon Miami Open win"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Alex Eala avoids major rankings blow after dispute with opponent in marathon Miami Open win<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"19 Mar 2026 8:30 PM\" data-ps-date=\"19 Mar 2026 8:30 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1773952251\"><br \/>\n                            19 Mar 2026 8:30 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                       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<\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Alex Eala avoids major rankings blow after dispute with opponent in marathon Miami Open win\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Alex-Eala-with-inset-of-Laura-Siegemund-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Alex Eala with inset of Laura Siegemund\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Alex Eala with inset of Laura Siegemund                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Alex Eala started her campaign at the 2026 Miami Open with a marathon victory over Laura Siegemund during which both players made complaints to the umpire.<\/p>\n<p>The world No 29 prevailed 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3 against 53rd-ranked Siegemund in a match that lasted three hours and 20 minutes on Stadium Court at the Hard Rock Stadium.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/alex-eala\">Eala<\/a> lost a gruelling opening set on a tiebreak after leading 3-0 and having four set points, but she broke her 38-year-old German opponent twice in both the second and third sets as she fought her way to the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>When Eala was serving at 2-1 in the second set, Siegemund walked to the back of the court after the 20-year-old Filipina mis-placed a ball toss. Siegemund then seemed to complain to the chair umpire, but her comments were not picked up by microphones.<\/p>\n<p>Eala responded by approaching the umpire and making her feelings known about Siegemund \u201cdelaying\u201d between points \u2014 something the German has often been accused of.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eala: <\/strong>\u201cCan you watch her time? Because many times she\u2019s delaying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Umpire:<\/strong> \u201cThe time has been watched and she knows. And you as well, you need to be careful of the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eala:<\/strong> \u201cI was about to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Umpire: <\/strong>\u201cYes, you had six seconds left, that\u2019s what I explained to her, but both of you need to have a look at the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>WTA Tour News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-speaks-popularity-famous-miami-open-2026\"><strong>Miami Open: Alex Eala gets candid about her huge popularity as she makes \u2018surprising\u2019 confession<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/elena-rybakina-aryna-sabalenka-iga-swiatek-miami-open-favourite-kafelnikov\"><strong>Elena Rybakina told she will have \u2018a hard time\u2019 at Miami Open as title favourite revealed<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Eala: <\/strong>\u201cYeah, but she stopped the point. I was about to serve and she turned around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Umpire: <\/strong>\u201cI know, I understand. That\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eala:<\/strong> \u201cJust wanted you to know \u2014 this time I was about to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Umpire:<\/strong> \u201cI know I know. It\u2019s okay. No problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After this exchange, Siegemund said:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s not about the time, it\u2019s about the focus.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>How does Eala\u2019s win impact her ranking?<\/h2>\n<p>Eala climbed to a new career-high ranking of world No 29 after reaching the last 16 in Indian Wells.<\/p>\n<p>However, she started the Miami Open at 51st in the Live WTA Rankings on 1,145 points after the 380 points she earned for reaching the semi-finals at last year\u2019s edition of the WTA 1000 event were deducted.<\/p>\n<p>Losing to Siegemund in the first round in Miami would, therefore, have seen Eala fall 22 places in the Live Rankings, but she has avoided dropping out of the top 50.<\/p>\n<p>Following her win, Eala has moved to 47th in the Live Rankings on 1,200 points. She will face either world No 3 Iga Swiatek or 50th-ranked Magda Linette in the third round.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/gauff-backs-sabalenka-eala-fonseca-star-treatment-medvedev-third-best-player-miami-open-roundup\">Gauff backs Sabalenka, Eala &amp; Fonseca star treatment, Medvedev \u2018third-best player\u2019: Miami Open roundup<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alex Eala avoids major rankings blow after dispute with opponent in marathon Miami Open win Ewan West 19 Mar 2026 8:30 PM Alex Eala with inset of Laura Siegemund Alex Eala started her campaign at the 2026 Miami Open with a marathon victory over Laura Siegemund during which both players made complaints to the umpire. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1835597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1835597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1835597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1835597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1835597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}