The 21-year-old Filipina came from a set down to defeat top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the final. It was Eala’s first title on the WTA Tour and also the first singles title won by a player from the Philippines at this level.
The final began on Sunday but had to be suspended because of heavy rain, with Pegula leading 6-4, 2-1. When play resumed on Monday, the match initially remained evenly balanced. At 4-3 in the second set, however, Eala took control and dominated from that point onwards. She won the final nine games of the match, conceded only eight points in the deciding set and secured the title with a 6-0 scoreline.
Historic title for the Philippines
Eala had already attracted attention several times before her success in Washington. In 2022, she won the US Open girls’ singles title, while last year she reached her first WTA final in Eastbourne. There, she missed four match points against Maya Joint before eventually losing in a third-set tiebreak. More recently, she reached the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at Wimbledon.
Her breakthrough finally came in Washington. The draw had already presented her with a major challenge: Eala first defeated Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, followed by defending champion Leylah Fernandez, second seed Elina Svitolina and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. In the final, she faced another high-profile opponent in world number three Pegula.
With her victories over Svitolina and Pegula, Eala increased her tally of wins against top-10 players this season to seven. The title also lifted her to a career-high position of number 20 in the world rankings.
First serve gives Eala the decisive advantage
One of the key differences between the two finalists was their success rate behind the first serve. Eala landed 63 percent of her first serves and won an impressive 86 percent of those points. Pegula, by contrast, won only 57 percent of the points behind her first serve despite posting a first-serve percentage of 65.
For the American, there was statistically very little difference between starting a point with her first or second serve. She won 58 percent of the points behind her second serve, which was even slightly higher than her figure behind the first.
Eala also had the advantage on return. She won 30 return points, compared with 21 for Pegula. Overall, Eala claimed 80 points, while her opponent finished with 61.
The statistics also reflect the pattern of the match after the rain delay, as Eala won the final nine games. Especially in the third set, the Filipina increasingly denied Pegula the time to build points in an organised manner through aggressive returning and early pressure.
Eala: “An incredible milestone”
After the final, Eala described the victory as something she had not expected before the start of the tournament. “It is an incredible milestone for me,” said the 21-year-old. She compared her path through the tournament, against such strong opposition, to a steep climb, with every match presenting a new obstacle.
Eala described the lengthy interruption as a “crazy 24 hours”. She said she had warmed up countless times, but had also used the break to draw conclusions from the first part of the final. She was able to put those adjustments into practice successfully when the match resumed.
For Eala, the progress she made throughout the week was particularly important. She said she had finished the tournament in better form than she had started it and had improved from match to match. Being able to reproduce elements from training against the best players in the world had given her further confidence.
Pegula also praised the support Eala received from the many Filipino fans in Washington. She said their backing did not only help Eala, but also contributed to the global growth of tennis. Eala will now continue the North American hard-court season at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto before the US Open begins at the end of August.
