Alexandra Eala: Rising Filipino star beats Jessica Pegula in DC Open final to claim first WTA Tour title
Alexandra Eala won the DC Open to become the first Filipino player to claim a WTA Tour title; the 21-year-old came from a set down to beat top seed Jessica Pegula; watch Eala in action at the Toronto Open, live on Sky Sports through to the final on August 13
Tuesday 4 August 2026 06:33, UK
Rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala came from a set down against Jessica Pegula to claim the first WTA Tour singles title of her career at the DC Open.
Eala had trailed by a set when the match was suspended because of heavy rain on Sunday, but the 21-year-old turned the contest round on Monday to claim a 4-6 6-4 6-0 victory.
The victory made Eala the first Filipino to win a singles title on the tour, completing the same career-defining breakthrough that the Washington tournament once gave Pegula when she claimed her first WTA Tour title in 2019.
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"At the beginning of the week, there's no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy," Eala said. "Winning a 500 (level tournament) is insane. It's an incredible milestone for me."
Eala's popularity soared during the grass-court season as she beat some of the sport's biggest names on runs to the semi-finals in Berlin and last 16 at Wimbledon.
She has swiftly become a huge star in the Philippines, and the nation's flags were dotted throughout the Stadium Court in Washington as chants for Eala routinely outweighed those for Pegula.
It capped a week in which the rising star transformed the atmosphere around the tournament while reaching her first WTA Tour final in her debut at the hard-court tune-up for the US Open.
The two traded breaks midway through the opening set, with Pegula breaking again at 4-4 and serving out the set at love. The players held through the opening three games of the second set before heavy rain suspended play on Sunday afternoon, with Eala up 2-1.
When they returned on Monday, the momentum belonged to Eala. She stormed back to claim the second set, then swept through the third.
She won each game of the final set of the match to complete the comeback in an hour and 47 minutes of court time.
In the process, she defeated all three of the tournament's top seeds and turned the biggest week of her career into a historic first title.
Eala received congratulations from former eight-division boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, who wrote on social media that her comeback showed the "heart of a Filipino" before calling her "our new champion."
Fritz beats Jodar to men's title
In the men's final later on Monday, third seed Taylor Fritz defeated Rafael Jodar 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.
Fritz broke the Spaniard twice early in the second set and eventually converted his fifth championship point after letting four earlier opportunities slip away.
Fritz lay on the court for several moments after winning the 11th title of his career, then got to his feet with a roll of his eyes as the tension of finally closing out the match gave way.
"It was just relief, like thank God I got it done, thank God the match is over," Fritz said of the moment. "It wasn't so much as like a celebration... I can just lay down for a second."
The victory delivered a first title for Fritz since June 2025, and a first on a hard court since February 2024.
It was the first time the 19-year-old Jodar had reached a final at an ATP 500 event, with his only previous ATP Tour final - and title - coming at the lower-level Marrakech Open on clay in April.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, with Draper set to return from at the National Bank Open in Montreal, starting August 3, and watch the US Open from August 30, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
