Roger Federer’s former coach has heaped praise on Alex Eala after she extended her impressive run at the Washington Open.
The Filipina reached her maiden WTA 500 final by dominating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 in just one hour and 16 minutes.
Eala and Osaka exchanged breaks early in the opening set, but it was the Filipina who looked far more assured on serve, not facing another break point for the remainder of the match.
The 21-year-old will next face American Jessica Pegula, who rallied from 5-2 down in the opening set to defeat Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
Pegula has now reached the 24th final of her career, with four of those coming this season.
The victory over world No 13 Osaka represents another impressive result for Eala, who has now defeated six Top 10 players during the 2026 season.
Paul Annacone, who coached Roger Federer from 2010 to 2013, did not hold back in his praise of the Filipina during a Tennis Channel segment following her semi-final victory.
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“This is amazing,” began Annacone.
“This is such a great journey to watch, because she had a springboard on to the Tour and she has done such a terrific job of getting comfortable with new sets of expectations in front of her.
“We’ve talked a lot about the fanbase and the people that follow her, whether she likes it or not she’s living life in a fishbowl right now, so how clearly can you go out and play with all those expectations?
“For me to watch someone with those kind of skills and to be able to use them against the best players, the most powerful plays is really incredible. Because she played Osaka in a way that is really difficult to do.
“Naomi is one of the biggest hitters on tour, she said you know what she’s great at doing that but I’m still going to stand up on the baseline. Every second serve I get, I’m going to take early, I’m going to redirect, I’m going to steal her time.
“She committed to who she is as a player, who she is as a person and that won her that match. That clarity of how she needed to play was better than the power that Osaka could bring.
“Now can she do it to the next level? I don’t know.
“That’s why I asked Andrea earlier in the match, it’s very interesting because she is vulnerable on her serve, but how many players are going to be able to overcome her leftiness to do something a little bit different to take advantage of the slower speeds and steal the time and get it back on her quickly.
“Because if you don’t, she just gets back on the baseline and runs you like a yo-yo.”
The victory guarantees Eala a new career-high ranking of world No 24, four places above her previous best.
Just 18 months ago, the young Filipina was ranked outside the world’s top 150. Her rapid rise has been one of the standout stories on the WTA Tour, and there are few signs that her remarkable momentum is slowing as the North American hard-court swing continues.
