On an off day during the DC Open, Alex Eala tried to get away and see the hit movie “The Odyssey.” She was unsuccessful, with popular IMAX tickets for the film sold out as she arrived to the theater.
“We got there, and there was a huge line. There was security. I was, like, ‘Oh, this is not your regular cinematic experience.’ I looked around. Everyone bought tickets [already].”
If she keeps up the level of play she demonstrated in recent days in the District, her matches the rest of the year — and maybe her career — are likely to be just as big a box-office draw.
Eala’s final odyssey in the District tournament spanned two days and three sets, but in the end, her conquest left no doubt. The 21-year-old from the Philippines ousted top seed Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, in the conclusion of the DC Open women’s final Monday to win the first title of a career that has skyrocketed across the tennis world and shows no signs of slowing down.
“I kind of just blacked out,” Eala said of closing out the win and falling to her knees behind the baseline. “Everything just came rushing to me, and I was really nervous before the last couple of points. I was really trying to channel those nerves into hitting good balls and moving my feet. Yeah, a huge burst of emotions.”
Her run is one of the most impressive in this or any tournament’s history. In succession, Eala defeated the reigning Olympic gold medalist in Qinwen Zheng, the defending Washington champion in Leylah Fernandez, world No. 10 Elina Svitolina, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and Pegula, the world No. 3 — leaving no doubt as to whether her rise from a round of 16 appearance at Wimbledon would be sustained.
“To have this many matches at this very high level … having these high-caliber players, it helps me obviously just gain experience and more court time at that level, and I think inevitably propelling my progression and the level of my game,” Eala said. “Because if you spend time at that kind of zone, the more time you spend, I believe the better you get and the more consistent you get. So all these matches and all these hours are just experience in the bag.”
Pegula, whose 38 wins in 2026 are the most on the WTA Tour, is the seventh top 10 opponent Eala has beaten this season.
“I think this year it seems like she’s finding more consistency with her results. She’s beaten quite a few top players this year, including myself,” Pegula said. “She’s tricky to play against. She’s a lefty, she hits the ball well, she kind of baits you with her lefty serve. I have seen her in the gym a lot. I think she’s trying to work on getting stronger and moving a little bit better, and I think that’s stuff that’s probably just going to come with time.”
At this time last year, Eala was the 65th-ranked player in the world. Now, the Filipino is into the top 20 for the first time, and the Washington WTA 500 title isn’t just her first, but a first for the 117 million-plus people of her homeland. She is the first tennis player ever from the sports-crazy Philippines to win a WTA or ATP Tour title.
“Oh, my gosh, winning a 500, it’s insane,” she said. “It’s an incredible milestone for me. You know, at the beginning of the week, there is no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy. Even at the beginning of the year, it’s just, these things kind of creep up on you, and I hold these moments really close to me.”
The match was delayed from noon Sunday due to rain, started, then endured a 20-hour, 14-minute delay. Multiple attempts to try and complete it Sunday night forced the first postponement of both the women’s and men’s finals in tournament history.
“Definitely felt like two different matches. I think it kind of was. Yeah, it felt a little bit hotter, but on my side, I just felt like I couldn’t find my rhythm. I think I was playing much better yesterday, for whatever reason, than I was today, and I think she was playing better today than she was yesterday,” Pegula said.
When fans returned Monday, some services, including parking and food options, were limited, but a full lower level Stadium Court crowd brought nearly the same amount of energy that Sunday’s sellout offered.
“I’ve talked to tennis people … and they say this is the most attended Monday final they’ve ever seen,” said tournament director Mark Ein after the match.
“It was really nice to see a really big turnout today. I think for a Monday final, that was really nice to have, ” Pegula added. “Even though it didn’t go my way, I think it was really still a great atmosphere.”
Pegula won the first set on Sunday, and the second set made it through three games on serve with Eala holding a 2-1 lead before the skies opened up again and play was halted just before 4 p.m. Sunny skies finally showed up Monday afternoon, and a little more than 20 hours after it was paused, the match resumed at noon.
They picked up where they left off — literally — holding serve though nine games with Eala leading 5-4. On Pegula’s serve, Eala kept her behind the baseline, with Pegula unable to keep her returns in the court. The only break point in the set was Eala’s, and she secured it when Pegula missed a backhand long to take the second set. Pegula, normally strong on serve, only won 56.5% of her points on her first, compared to the 84.4% dominance of Eala.
That was all the momentum Eala needed, breaking Pegula twice more in the third and winning the final eight games of the match to secure the maiden win of her nascent career.
“I think I was able to take my time and kind of take those learnings from the first half of the match and do my best to apply them in the second,” Eala said, “and I think it worked pretty well.”
On the men’s side, No. 3 Taylor Fritz secured his first ATP title of the season by beating upstart Spaniard Rafael Jodar 7-6(2), 6-4.
The title is Fritz’s 11th title of his career and his first in the District, becoming only the second American man in the last 18 years to win the Washington trophy.
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