Alex Eala made a sluggish start to her hard-court swing and looked set for an early exit from the Washington DC Open, but then brilliantly turned things around to beat former world No 4 Zheng Qinwen.

Before her opener at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday, the last time Eala played was on the grass at Wimbledon where she enjoyed another historic run as she reached the round of 16.

But her first match of the North American campaign didn’t initially go according to plan as she found herself a set and break down after being broken to love in game seven of the second set.

Eala, though, broke back immediately in game eight – also to love – and after a steady hold, she claimed a second break to take the set.

The Filipina then raced into a 4-0 lead in the decider with two breaks and eventually claimed a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win to secure her spot in the round of 16 at the WTA 500 event.

Alex Eala News

She was quick to credit her coach Joan Bosch, stating: “He said that I just have to keep going because if I’m there for every ball, I’ll have my chances. And I did. Like always, he’s right.”

There is no doubt that game eight was the turning point for the world No 28.

“I definitely think it helped,” she said about the break. “Maybe if I hadn’t gotten that break, who knows? Maybe it would have been too big of a gap. You never know in tennis, but that definitely helped me I think.”

But the experience she has gained over the past year definitely helps as she reveals she now has the “ammunition” after putting in the hard yards.

It is sometimes easy to forget that the 21-year-old only made her top-level breakthrough at the 2025 Miami Open.

“I think I’ve already had that in me,” Eala said to press Tuesday. “I think it’s definitely a mindset that you have. That being said, I think it’s been trained or I’ve practiced. I’ve had more experience now to implement that mindset at the higher level.

“That just comes also with the level of my tennis getting higher because you always want to win, and you always want to fight. But I think now with the progress I’ve had this past year, I have a bit more ammunition to back it up.”

WTA Rankings Update

Eala started the tournament at a career-high No 28 with 1,666 points and she will remain on that despite her win, but a run to the latter stages could see her jump a few places.

A second-round win is worth 60 points, but she will stay at No 28 as Emma Navarro in 27th is on 1,719. If she reaches the quarter-final she could jump to No 25.

But she faces a difficult assignment next as she takes on defending champion Leylah Fernandez after the Canadian eased to a 6-1, 6-4 win over Magda Linette.

“I think it’s going to be a very tough match for me,” Eala said during her on-court interview. “Leylah is such an amazing player and an amazing person as well.”