Alexandra Eala recovered from a set down to stun top seed Jessica Pegula and win her first WTA title at the rain-hit Washington Open.
The 21-year-old was trailing 4-6, 2-1 on Sunday before poor weather forced the match to be postponed until the following day. Taking to the court in what was a rare Monday final, both players got off on level footing before a series of costly errors from Pegula paved the way for Eala to storm to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory. In the final set, she dropped just eight points. It is her ninth career win over a top 10 player and her seventh since January.
Eala has become the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA title at an event she was the first from her country to play. Washington was also her first appearance in a Tour-level hardcourt final.
“It’s always a pleasure to share the court with you,” Eala said to Pegula during the trophy ceremony.
“I definitely learned so much, especially from your forehand lines and your background crosses.
“I’m really looking forward to hopefully many more finals with you.”
Before beating Pegula, Eala scored a series of notable wins in Washington. She also defeated reigning Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, former world No.1 Naomi Osaka and second seed Elina Svitolina. Zheng and Pegula were the only players to take a set off her.
“Before the final I got so many messages, sweet messages from my family, and from my friends who are on Tour, wherever else in the world,’ said Eala.
“I thought to myself, I feel so much love. So standing here in the middle of all this love, my first chance at the title, knowing it won’t be my last, and already having achieved this feat and this milestone for my career, I knew that whatever would have happened after this match, it would have already been a win for me.”
The youngster’s rapid rise has been praised by Pegula, who was bidding to win her first Washington Open title since 2019. The world No.3 was playing in her 24th WTA final and had won 22 out of her last 26 hardcourt matches coming into the final.
“You’re an amazing player, and just to see how far you’ve come over the last couple years, when we first played, to see the amazing fans that follow you every single place you go,” Pegula said of Eala’s progression.
“ It’s not fun to play against, but I do appreciate the really fun atmosphere. I think it’s amazing.
Eala is projected to rise to 20th in the PIF WTA rankings. Making her the first Filipino player to crack the top 20.
