Three Domino Effects of Iga Świątek's Shocking Wimbledon Loss to Alexandra Eala

The champ has been dethroned. Reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Świątek, who last year inched one step closer to the career slam by winning her first title at the All-England Club, was stunned by Alexandra Eala in the third round on Saturday. Eala was the better player at converting break point opportunities and Świątek made twice as many unforced errors as her opponent en route to being ousted from the tournament. And Świątek's defeat wasn't the only consequential loss on Saturday, as 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina also was knocked out of the tournament in the third round, as she was dispatched in straight sets by Elise Mertens.

Here's what Świątek's loss—and Rybakina's—means for the rest of the Wimbledon women's draw.

American champ?

An American woman hasn't secured a singles title at Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2016. It would be fitting for 2026 to be the year, given Williams herself returned to the grounds of the All-England Club as a singles player for the first time in four years. There are just five women left in the Wimbledon women's draw who have won a major in their careers—and two of them are American (Coco Gauff and Madison Keys). Another is Jessica Pegula, who made it to the 2024 US Open final and the 2026 Australian Open semifinal. Of the 16 women remaining in the draw, five are American. The odds are certainly in favor of an American woman winning Wimbledon for the first time in a decade.

Is the path paved for Sabalenka to win Wimbledon for the first time?

Sabalenka has made a deep run into this tournament three times in her career, including last year. There's carnage around her this year but she's cruising along, as she has yet to drop a set thus far through three rounds of play and is serving well enough, particularly in the biggest moments of matches, to win at the All-England Club.

There are plenty of women who could stand in Sabalenka's way, such as Keys, who defeated her in the 2025 Australian Open final, or Gauff, who bested her to capture the 2025 French Open crown. But, should Sabalenka defeat Osaka in the fourth round, the Belarusian has a favorable history against every woman she could possibly meet in the semifinal save for Karolína Muchová, whom she defeated earlier this year at Brisbane.

Plus, the bottom half of the draw looks far less scarier than it did with Rybakina and Świątek, both players who have tested—and beaten—the world No. 1 at majors in the past, now out of the picture.

It won't be easy, but the road to her first Wimbledon title is far less treacherous for Sabalenka now than it was at the start of play Saturday.

Eala the trailblazer

Alexandra Eala not only secured the biggest win of her career to date by ousting Świątek in the third round, but she also continued her historic run as a trailblazer at the All-England Club. Eala became the first Filipina woman to advance to the third round at Wimbledon and is now the first from her country to make it to the second week of a major.

The 29-year-old has skyrocketed up the rankings, as she was well outside the top-100 at the start of 2025, but has made a steady climb inside the top-30, thanks to a run to the semifinal at the Miami Open in 2025, as well as trips to the fourth round at this year's Indian Wells and Miami Open, where she defeated Świątek.

We saw an improbable run to the final just a month ago at the French Open, when Maja Chwalińska became the first qualifier in the Open era to reach the Roland Garros final. Could we be witnessing another in Eala? While she's not a qualifier, Eala has a chance to be both a major trailblazer for her country and for her career by continuing her magical Wimbledon run, and potentially, hoisting the championship trophy.

And with just one top-10 seed remaining in the bottom half of the draw, the question is, why not her?

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