'Most exciting player' Eala shows 'Filipino heart' to make history

'Most exciting player' Eala shows 'Filipino heart' to make history Alexandra Eala secured her first WTA title by defeating Jessica Pegula in the Washington Open final, becoming the first Filipina to achieve this milestone. After the umpire called the winning point, Eala dropped to her knees in tears, saying, "To the Filipino community, present successful DC and backmost home, wherever you are successful the world. I truly consciousness each the love." Pegula praised the atmosphere, stating, "I tin decidedly corroborate this is the champion Monday last assemblage I've seen," the American said. "I'm definite immoderate radical took disconnected work. I won't archer them wherever you guys were." Rafael Nadal, whose academy Eala attended, congratulated her on X, writing, "A well-deserved rubric for each the hard work." Eala began playing tennis at age four, recalling, "I went to bid each time aft schoolhouse with my ruffled socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks." She later trained at Nadal’s academy, graduating in 2023 with her diploma presented by then‑world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Three years after her graduation, Eala ousted Swiatek from Wimbledon, becoming the first Filipino player to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the Open era. At the Washington Open she defeated the top three seeds, including Naomi Osaka, after which Pegula described the world No. 20 as "the aboriginal of the tour". In 2022 Eala appeared on the cover of Vogue Philippines after winning a junior Grand Slam title, the first Filipina to do so. Her quarter‑final victory over Swiatek at the 2025 Miami Open sparked renewed enthusiasm for tennis in the Philippines. More than 75,000 Filipino‑American residents live in the Washington, D.C., area, with an additional four million across the United States expected to follow her at the US Open in late August. Pegula thanked the supporters, saying, "To each the Filipino fans that came retired and person supported, you guys are helping turn tennis astir the world." Former boxing champion Manny Pacquiao posted on social media that her comeback displayed the "heart of a Filipino" and hailed her "our caller champion". British former No. 1 Greg Rusedski lauded her on his podcast Off Court With Greg Rusedski, commenting, "She is fearless, she takes the shot early, she is simply a lefty," he said. "Her mentality is truthful bully and truthful strong." He added, "The 1 country she needs successful her crippled to triumph a large is to get that service a spot amended and much powerful." Rusedski speculated, "Maybe adjacent twelvemonth if she tin get that betterment connected the service past she's decidedly successful the premix [for a major] due to the fact that the remainder of her crippled is there." US Open champion Andy Roddick described her as "the existent deal," noting, "She is conscionable not frightened to spell against the apical players," he said. He continued, "For immoderate crushed what she does with switching directions and accepting gait and pinning radical successful corners, she is simply a sanction cipher wants to spot aboriginal successful a gully arsenic a apical player."