Jessica Pegula produced a remarkable capitulation to lose the Washington Open final to Alex Eala.
The Washington Open final was delayed a day mid-way through the match due to thunderstorms in the United States capital, but Pegula entered the final’s second day in the driving seat.
She was a set up, with the second set on serve, but she did not perform at all well against an inspired Eala, who took the second set by the scoreline of 6-4.
Eala took control of the third set and raced to a 6-0 win to claim the first WTA Tour title, much to the delight of a raucous Filipino-heavy crowd.
Pegula made reference to the crowd after her loss, taking some time to address Eala’s fans after crumbling in the Washington Open final.
More WTA Tour news
“Thank you everyone, first I want to congratulate Alex on an amazing week and amazing tournament. I don’t know how much more I can say, but you’re an amazing player and just to see how far you’ve come the last couple of years when we first played,” said the American.
“To see the amazing fans follow you every single place you go, it’s not fun to play against, but I do appreciate it. This is the best Monday final I’ve ever seen.
“I’m sure some people took off work, I won’t tell them where you guys were, but it’s amazing you showed up and again to all the Filipino fans who have come out and supported, you guys are helping grow tennis all around the world. As a female athlete in tennis, we love to see that grow, so thanks so much everyone.”
While Pegula will not be happy with her performance in the final, she has created more distance between her and Coco Gauff in the WTA Tour rankings.
She’s earned 325 ranking points for her run to the Washington Open final, which has given her a healthy lead over her American rival.
Pegula, who is currently the world No 3, is now nearly 1000 ranking points above world No 4 Gauff. She will now eye Elena Rybakina, who currently sits in the world No 2.
However, the American still has a long way to go to reach the top two of the rankings for the first time in her career.
There is currently 1431 ranking points splitting Rybakina and Pegula, so the American will likely have to win one of the Masters titles in Toronto or Cincinnati in order to truly put pressure on the Australian Open champion.
