Alex Eala clinched the Eala DC Open title on Monday to become the first tennis player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour singles title, defeating top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in a final that had been suspended by a Washington storm the previous day. The 21-year-old’s victory at the Mubadala DC Open, now in its 57th edition, rewrites Philippine tennis history and sets up a compelling US Open arrival.
The women’s final had been halted on Sunday, originally scheduled for 12 p.m., when heavy rain and lightning struck with Pegula leading 6-4, 1-2. When play resumed Monday, Eala won the remaining sets in clinical fashion. The full match lasted one hour and 45 minutes, according to Olympics.com.
How Eala Won the Eala DC Open Title on Her Serve
The numbers behind the victory are striking in their precision. Eala won 84.4% of her first-serve points (38 of 45), converted five of nine break-point opportunities, and took 79 of 140 total points played. She hit no aces and committed just three double faults across the match.
Pegula, ranked world No. 2, had entered the final seeking her 12th career WTA singles title and was playing in her fourth WTA final of 2026. The first set belonged entirely to her. But after Eala levelled in the second, the third set collapsed, with the Filipino winning it 6-0 to seal the championship.
Eala’s run through the draw was formidable. According to the WTA, she beat Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, defeated Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 7-6(1), overcame Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-4, and then took out Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals before facing Pegula.
Rankings, Prize Money and What Comes Next
Ranked No. 28 at the start of the week, Eala is now projected to break into the world’s top 20 for the first time, with the US Open approaching. The win carries 500 WTA ranking points and a prize of $252,000, from a total women’s prize pool of $1,637,982. Pegula receives $155,000 and 325 points as runner-up.
The tournament itself is the world’s only combined ATP/WTA 500-level event, held annually in Washington since 1969. The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, which hosts the event in Rock Creek Park, holds 7,500 spectators in its main stadium and runs across 25 outdoor courts and 5 indoor heated courts, according to Har-Tru.
On the ATP side, the men’s singles champion collected $461,835 from a total prize fund of $2,469,450, per the ATP Tour.
In the women’s doubles, Erin Routliffe and Aldila Sutjiadi completed the tournament without dropping a set to claim that title.
Eala’s ranking will be confirmed when the WTA updates its list ahead of the US Open draw. A top-20 seeding would give her protected positioning at Flushing Meadows, where she now arrives as a WTA title-holder for the first time.