Alex Eala collected her second biggest prize check of her young career with her maiden WTA Tour title at the Washington DC Open to edge closer to the top 20 prize money earners this year.
The 21-year-old created history at the WTA 500 event as she became the first Filipina to win a top-level title, overcoming a shaky start to defeat top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the rain-delayed final.
Besides the shiny new trophy and 500 ranking points, Eala also received a cheque of $252,000, but that will be nothing compared to the money that the Mubadala DC Open organisers made from her presence at the tournament.
Despite the final being pushed back to Monday due to lightning and rain in DC on Sunday, the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center was filled to capacity with Filipino fans once again packing the stands.
Every Eala match had been sold out with tournament director Mark Ein revealing earlier in the week that “ticketing team says at least 80%, if not more, of the requests in this tournament are about when is Alex Eala playing”.
Alex Eala News
But that cheque of $252,000 took Eala’s earnings for the 2026 season to $1,537,330 with $76,918 of that tally coming from doubles matches.
The money she earned in Washington is also well below the cheque she received at Wimbledon following her run to the last 16 as that was worth $402,563.
How do the Filipina’s earnings so far in 2026 compare to the top earners in women’s tennis?
Top WTA Earners
Eala currently sits at No 22 for prize money earned so far in 2026 with Taylor Townsend ahead of her on $1,621,374, but the bulk of the American’s earnings ($1,153,853) have come in doubles.
The world No 20 is just $165,606 away from hitting the top 20 for money earners as well with Sorana Cirstea currently occupying that spot with $1,702,936.
But those in the top 10 are far ahead with Iga Swiatek currently at No 10 on $2,246,059 while Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova is top with $6,188,432, with $4,8m coming from her run at the grass-court Grand Slam.
French Open champion Mirra Andreeva is second with $4,830,756 and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is third with $5,083,826.
Career Earnings
Eala’s prize money in Washington pushed her career earnings closer to the $3,000,000 landmark as she now sits on $2,901,015 with more than half of that coming from 2026.
Her biggest pay cheque in 2026 came from her semi-final appearance at the Miami Open as she received $332,160.
Her total of $2,9m puts her in 280th place on the all-time list, but there is no doubt that she will crack the top 100 in the next few years.
And her off-court earnings are likely to overshadow her on-court earnings over the course of her career as she has become one of the most popular faces of tennis.
