Alex Eala Makes History With Stunning Comeback to Win First WTA Title

Alex Eala needed two days, three sets and one breathtaking finishing run to claim the biggest championship of her career.

Eala rallied past world No. 3 Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Monday to win the Mubadala DC Open, becoming the first Filipino player to capture a WTA Tour singles title.

After the final resumed with Pegula leading by a set, Eala seized control at the most consequential moment. The players were locked at 4-4 in the second set when the 21-year-old Filipina raised her level and never relinquished it.

Eala won the final two games of the second set, then swept all six in the decider. Her eight-game closing streak transformed a tense championship match into a historic runaway.

The victory delivered Eala’s first WTA 500 trophy and avenged her three-set loss to Pegula in the 2025 Miami Open semifinals.

Alex Eala Turns Final Around After Overnight Delay

Pegula captured the opening set 6-4 on Sunday before rain suspended play with Eala leading the second set 2-1.

Organizers spent more than five hours searching for a playable window, but intermittent showers repeatedly interrupted attempts to dry Stadium Court. The final was eventually postponed until noon Monday.

Pegula returned one set from her third title of the season and her second in Washington. Eala returned knowing she had no margin for a slow restart.

The Filipina held firm through the middle of the second set, leaning on her improved serve and taking the ball early against one of the tour’s best returners.

At 4-4, Eala finally created the separation she needed. She broke Pegula and served out the set, carrying that momentum directly into the decider.

Pegula never recovered.

Eala broke immediately in the third set and kept applying pressure with her left-handed forehand, changing direction before Pegula could settle into her preferred baseline patterns. By the time the top-seeded American found herself trailing 3-0, the match had taken on a completely different shape.

Eala did not allow her opponent another game, completing the first 6-0 set of their two-match rivalry.

Eala Completes Historic Washington Run

The championship capped a remarkable week in which Eala defeated five established opponents.

She rallied past Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round before beating defending champion Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 7-6 (1). Eala then eliminated world No. 10 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-4 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2.

Her victory over Pegula represented her seventh win against a top-10 opponent this season.

Eala previously won two WTA 125 tournaments, in Guadalajara and Birmingham, but those events sit one level below the main WTA Tour. Her Washington triumph made her the first Filipino, man or woman, to win a tour-level singles championship.

The title also carried 500 ranking points and $252,000 in prize money. Eala is projected to climb from No. 28 to a new career high and rise to No. 14 in the Race to the WTA Finals.

Less than 14 months earlier, Eala held four championship points in the Eastbourne final but left without the trophy after losing a third-set tiebreak to Maya Joint.

There would be no comparable heartbreak in Washington. Once Eala reached the brink this time, she won eight consecutive games and closed the door herself.

Like HEAVY’s content?Be sure to follow us.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

The post Alex Eala Makes History With Stunning Comeback to Win First WTA Title appeared first on HEAVY.