WASHINGTON — Alexandra Eala broke into the Top 20 of the PIF WTA Rankings for the first time after rallying past top-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1 in the rain-delayed Mubadala DC Open final Monday to win her first WTA Tour title and become the first Filipina to capture a WTA Tour singles crown.
The championship marked the biggest victory of Eala’s career and capped a breakthrough week in which she defeated the tournament’s top three seeds, becoming the first player since Barbora Krejcikova won the Dubai title in 2023 to accomplish the feat.
Rain repeatedly interrupted the final Sunday, forcing players to wait nearly two days before the match could be completed.
Eala stayed composed during the lengthy delays, passing the time by reading a few chapters of Wuthering Heights, grabbing something to eat and keeping herself ready for play to resume.
When action resumed Monday, the 21-year-old recovered from dropping a tightly contested opening-set tiebreak, raised her level in the second set and dominated the decider to clinch the title.
“First and foremost, it’s an achievement for myself,” Eala said during the champion’s press conference. “It’s a personal achievement. I have worked really hard.
“Winning a 500, it’s insane. It’s an incredible milestone for me. At the beginning of the week, there is no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy. Even at the beginning of the year … these things kind of creep up on you. I hold these moments really close to me.”
The victory also erased the disappointment of last year’s Eastbourne final, where Eala held four championship points in her first tour-level final before finishing runner-up.
This time, she made sure the opportunity would not slip away.
The Washington title continued Eala’s remarkable rise this season. Her seven victories over Top 10 opponents are tied with Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina for the most on the WTA Tour.
Eala said the title reflected the steady progress she made throughout the tournament.
“So many takeaways from this tournament,” she said. “I think I ended the tournament in better shape than I started. I think each match I kept improving and kept learning things about myself. It’s just really nice to see all the things that I have been working on off court or during training being implemented in matches.”
The victory added another milestone to a breakthrough season for Eala, whose run in Washington established her among the WTA Tour’s elite while delivering the Philippines its first WTA Tour singles champion.
