Alexandra Eala’s star continues to shine, with the 21-year-old lifting her first WTA trophy with her defeat of Jessica Pegula in the Washington DC final.
Weather delays saw the match being suspended until Monday, when the Filipina recovered from a set down to win the 500-level title.
The 4-6 6-4 6-0 triumph meant she became the first Filipina to capture a WTA title in the Open Era. She also broke into the top 20 rankings for the first time – and in true Eala fashion became the highest ranked Filipina in WTA history.
“I’m over the moon. I’m super happy. Taking it all in right now. Just pure happiness,” she said.
“I think I ended this tournament in better shape than I started. I think each match I kept improving and kept learning things about myself.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence and it’s just really nice to see all the things I’ve been working on off court and during training being implemented in matches.
“Oh my gosh, winning a 500 is insane. It’s an incredible milestone for me. At the beginning of the week there’s no way I would have thought I would be holding this trophy, and even at the beginning of the year.
“These things kind of creep up on you and I hold these moments really close to me.”
Eala’s path to the crown involved wins over Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka before reaching the final against Pegula.
“She’s a great ball striker, great player, great competitor. I think we’ve seen that over the last few years,” the American said of Eala after the match.
“It’s so refreshing and nice to see how well she’s handled all fandom and stardom that’s come with her being from the Philippines and how they’ve embraced her. It’s crazy how she deals with it every single week, which just shows her maturity as a player and a person.
“I have a lot of respect for her, and I like her a lot. I think she’s a really nice girl and it’s cool to see what she’s brought to the women’s game.”
This time last year, Eala was ranked world No.65 and was still a fairly new name on the pro circuit.
She became a player to watch after her breakthrough run at Miami in March 2025, where she secured wins over Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Pegula.
Avenging that defeat on Monday shows how much Eala’s game has developed since and her ability to thrive against top players; Pegula was unable to earn a breakpoint after play resumed on Monday.
After beating world No.3 Pegula, Eala now holds a 9-4 lifetime record against top-10 players.
Since 1990, only three other players scored more wins in their first 13 matches against top-10 opposition – Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf.
And now, with a title under her belt, Eala could be well positioned for a deep Grand Slam run.
Her best result came at Wimbledon earlier this year where she made her maiden fourth round appearance – another first among Filipina players.
“I think to have this many matches at this very high level, having these high calibre players, it helps me obviously gain more experience and more court time at that level,” Eala said.
“I think [it is] inevitably propelling my progression and the level of my game because the more time you spend at that kind of zone I believe the better you get and the most consistent you get, so all these matches and all these hours are just experience in the bag.”
The WTA ranking points leader in the North American hardcourt swing so far, Eala’s next challenge looms at the US Open, where she has the opportunity to prove whether she can take her progression another step further.