Alex Eala on the cusp of Washington Open title after Naomi Osaka sweep

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala stands a victory away from claiming a breakthrough WTA Tour title.

That is after Eala earned her place in the final of the Washington Open in the United States after a resounding 6-4, 6-2 dismantling of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan on Saturday, August 1 (Sunday, August 2, Manila time).

Extending a superb campaign by eliminating former world No. 1 Osaka, Eala advanced to a WTA 500 final for the first time in her career and arranged a championship date with top seed Jessica Pegula of the United States.

“Super happy. I think I played really well. Such a meaningful match against a great player. So really happy to share the court with Naomi,” said Eala.

Eala came back from down 3-4 in the opening set and never looked back as she gets a chance to capture a first-ever tour-level crown to add to her collection that includes two WTA 125 titles.

The Filipina world No. 28 came close to winning a maiden WTA Tour championship in the 2025 Eastbourne Open, but she lost a heartbreaker of a final to Australia’s Maya Joint.

Eala, though, has made huge strides since, and her performance against Osaka — a hard-court specialist who has ruled the Australian Open and US Open twice each — highlighted how far she has come. 

Osaka seized a 4-3 lead to start the match, but Eala responded by winning the next three games to snatch the first set.

Eala maintained control from there, racing to a 3-1 advantage in the second set before completing a dominant victory over Osaka in just 1 hour and 16 minutes.

Holding her own against one of the biggest servers on tour, Eala broke world No. 13 Osaka four times. 

“It’s such an honor to share the court with her. But I think it’s with, I guess, just the way I approached today’s match, I could never count her out. I had to be so locked in,” said Eala. 

And Eala knows the job is far from over as she battles a familiar foe in world No. 3 Pegula on Monday, August 3 (Manila time).

Eala can get payback on Pegula over a year since her magical run ended at the hands of the American in the semifinals of the 2025 Miami Open, which marked the first time a Filipina reached the final four of a WTA 1000 tournament.

“I think I just have to trust myself. I’m in the final for a reason, she is such an amazing player, also for a reason, so I think it’s going to be a really good match,” said Eala. – Rappler.com