Alexandra Eala: Rising tennis star 'most exciting player on WTA tour'

As the umpire called the winning point, Alexandra Eala collapsed to the ground in tears - knowing her country had been with her for every step of the tournament.

She overcame weather delays, and the loss of the first set, to defeat world number three Jessica Pegula in the Washington Open final, becoming the first Filipina to win a WTA title.

"To the Filipino community, here in DC and back home, wherever you are in the world. I really feel all the love."

Even Pegula was impressed by the turnout on Monday, for the continuation of Sunday's final.

"I can definitely confirm this is the best Monday final crowd I've seen," the American said. "I'm sure some people took off work. I won't tell them where you guys were."

Former world number one Rafael Nadal, whose academy Eala graduated from, congratulated her on the win, writing on X: "A well-deserved title for all the hard work."

Despite only being 21 years old, this has been a long time coming for Eala.

She first started playing at the age of four, saying: "I went to train every day after school with my ruffled socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks."

Going on to join Nadal's tennis academy, she had the opportunity to train with the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

She graduated from there in 2023, having her diploma presented to her by the world number one at the time, Iga Swiatek.

Three years later, Eala knocked the Pole out of Wimbledon - becoming the first player from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the Open era.

Her improvement has been visible, beating the top three seeds at the Washington Open.

After defeating third seed Naomi Osaka, Pegula described the world number 20 as "the future of the tour".

In 2022, Eala was on the cover of Vogue Philippines after becoming the first Filipina to win a junior Grand Slam title.

But it was her victory over Swiatek in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in 2025, that brought a new passion for tennis to the Philippines.

There has been a lot of love for the young star from her community, with queues to see her play growing and fans following her all over the world.

There are more than 75,000 members of the Filipino community in Washington, with a further four million across the US who will be watching her in the US Open in late August.

"To all the Filipino fans that came out and have supported, you guys are helping grow tennis around the world," Pegula said after the match.

Fellow Filipino and former boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao, wrote on social media that her comeback showed the "heart of a Filipino" before calling her "our new champion".

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