It’s no exaggeration to say that the Czech curse continues to haunt Alex Ila.
In the round of 16 of the 2026 Miami Open, the Philippine national team dominated the match early Tuesday morning (Philippine time), defeating 14th seed Karolina Muchova 6-0, 6-2.
For the second consecutive WTA 1000 tournament, the Czech Republic player halted Ila’s run. Linda Noskova suffered a similar fate in the round of 16 at Indian Wells, falling to a dismal 0-12 against the Czech opponent.
Muchova took control from the start, defeating Eara in the first game — and from there, she never looked back, both literally and figuratively.
The only sign of resistance came midway through the second set, when Ila finally held serve in the fifth and seventh games. These short holds showed improved first serve placement and more aggressive shot selection, but by that point the gap was already firmly established.
The difference was most evident in the serve and return numbers, where Muchova dominated Ila. The 2026 Doha Open winner won 80% of his first serve points, compared to 39% for Ila, and also won 64% of his first serve return points, 20% for Ila. This clearly shows that she is in control at both ends of each rally.
As a result, Ela will fall short of replicating her semi-final breakthrough in Miami last year, and will likely lose 270 ranking points as a result, pushing her down to the mid-40s in the WTA rankings.
With the Sunshine Swing campaign over, she has now turned her focus to the clay season, and is scheduled to showcase her clay court swing at the 2026 Linz Open in April.
