Alex Eala keeps raising level of play with wins over world’s top players
MANILA, Philippines – The more elite players Alex Eala faces, the better she gets.
And that has proven true in the Washington Open as the Filipina claimed a breakthrough WTA Tour title, overcoming a challenging draw that featured the top three seeds, two of whom are in the world top 10, and the defending champion.
“It was a very steep hill. Coming into the tournament, I knew the competition was super strong and my draw was quite tough,” said Eala.
“Every match was just a different set of obstacles, you know. I’m really, really proud. I think I encountered my fair share of obstacles this week, so super happy.”
Eala dashed the title defense of 2025 winner Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the round of 16, scored a second straight upset of second seed and world No. 10 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the quarterfinals, then toppled third seed and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan in the semifinals to reach a WTA 500 final for the first time.
There, Eala came back from a set down as she stunned top seed and world No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, to become the first player from the Philippines to win a tour crown.
Eala also disposed of the defending Olympic and Asian Games champion to open her campaign, defeating China’s Zheng Qinwen in the round of 32.
As ambitious as she is, though, the 21-year-old Eala admitted thoughts of lifting the trophy hardly crossed her mind, considering that her path to the title saw her go up against opponents that beat her in the past.
Eala lost to Zheng in the semifinals of the 2022 Asian Games, got clobbered by Fernandez in the round of 32 of the 2026 Stuttgart Open, and fell short against Pegula in the semifinals of the 2025 Miami Open — a defeat that ended her run as the first Filipina to reach the final four of a WTA tournament.
She avenged all those losses.
“I’ve worked really hard, and oh my gosh, winning a 500 is insane. It’s an incredible milestone for me and at the beginning of the week, there’s no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy — even at the beginning of the year. It’s just these things kind of creep up on you. I hold these moments really close to me,” said Eala.
But Eala’s performance over the past months suggested that she was ripe for her crowning moment.
Eala has beaten her last five top-10 opponents, with her other victims in that winning streak including former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland and current world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
She took down Rybakina in the round of 16 of the 2026 Berlin Tennis Open in Germany in June, then dethroned Swiatek in the round of 32 of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships in Great Britain in July.
Eala’s victories over Svitolina and Pegula raised her record against top-10 players to 9-4, with seven of those victories coming this 2026 alone.
“I think to have these many matches at this very high level, having these high-caliber players, it helps me obviously just gain experience and more court time at that level, and I think inevitably propelling my progression and the level of my game,” said Eala.
“Because if you spend time at that kind of zone, the more time you spend, I believe the better you get and the more consistent you get. It’s all these matches and all these hours are just experience in the bag.”
On top of the title and her new career-high No. 20 world ranking, it is the belief that she can get the job done that Eala has also gained.
“So many takeaways from this tournament and I think I ended the tournament in better shape than I started,” she said. “I think each match I kept improving and kept learning things about myself, so definitely gives me a lot of confidence and it’s just really nice to see all the things that I’ve been working on off court or during training being implemented in matches.” – Rappler.com
