WASHINGTON, July 31, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Filipina sensation Alexandra Eala has been the center of attention all week long at the Mubadala DC Open, an ATP/WTA 500-series combined event, taking place at the H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, northwest Washington, D.C.
Whether on Stadium Court, the practice court, signing autographs and posing for selfies with fans, or talking with media in her press conferences, the 21-year-old from the Philippines has generated plenty of interest throughout the 57th edition of the tournament. There are plenty of passionate Filipino fans in attendance, coming from up and down the East Coast, many of them waving flags and displaying signs of encouragement for Eala.
Flying into the Quarterfinals in DC 💚
Alex Eala ousts defending champion and fellow lefty Fernandez 6-2, 7-6!#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/a6vhcP0fcR
— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 29, 2026
The impact Eala has created for the DC Open event has been unmatched, according to tournament owner and chairman Mark Ein. He spoke at length about the positivity of Eala’s presence this week in the nation’s capital city.
“Over the last month, the ticketing team says at least 80 percent – if not more – of the requests in this tournament are about: ‘When is Alex Eala playing?’” Ein said. “Honestly, I think it’s more, and they just didn’t want to say it was more. But they’re like, virtually all [asking about her]. It’s not an exaggeration. That’s actually what they tell me.
“When you look at the amazing players here and how many great stars there are, it says something about Alex’s following. Obviously, she’s been an icon in the Philippines – but [also] worldwide. There’s obviously Filipinos everywhere.”
It should come as no surprise that Ein and his tournament team made it a top priority to bring Eala to Washington for this year’s tournament.
“We’re super glad she’s here,” Ein said in a news conference on Tuesday. “We love the fans that she brings. But also, just her[self]; she’s such a really nice person and a grateful person and a humble person. So, having her here is honestly one of the really great things that’s already happened this year.”
Inspiring the next generation 🎾
Alex Eala | #MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/KNWoyAwRZ7
— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 29, 2026
From the moment Eala arrived, she’s been a welcome presence at the tournament site, which is located about five miles north of the National Mall in Rock Creek Park, and has enjoyed interacting with fans. “I’m super happy to be here in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “I think it’s an amazing place. The people have been super hospitable, and I’ve had a great time so far.”
When the 28th-ranked Eala came to her news conference on Wednesday, after dethroning 2025 DC Open champion Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-6 (1), to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal match-up against World No. 10 and second seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, she wore a shirt that said: “Kapag lumago, Hindi na hihinto.” As Eala explained to a reporter, “It’s a phrase that Nike and I came up with. I wore it also in the back of my visor in Wimbledon, and it means, ‘Once it grows, it cannot be stopped.’
“So, yeah, I just think it’s a really beautiful message,” she said.
Eala, who was ranked No. 65 a year ago at this time, spoke in positive tones about her victory over the 34th-ranked Fernandez from Canada, in which she recovered from an early 1-5 deficit in the second set to pull out a straight-set triumph.
Can’t stop, won’t stop 💪
Alex Eala takes out a defending champion for the second straight tournament!#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/GWxHmHkV8o
— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 29, 2026
“I’m really happy with the match today,” she said. “I think there were a lot of difficult positions, especially in that second set, so happy with how I fought.
“I just tried my best to stick it out and wait for my opportunities and kind of try to continuously find solutions, yeah.”
Eala said beating a more-experienced player like Fernandez meant a lot to her. “I think every win at this level is very meaningful for me, because end of the day, I’m playing the top of the top,” she emphasized.
“That’s why I come into every match with all the intention that I could possibly have. I come out of each match, especially if I win, you know, feeling really accomplished, yeah, because I think at this level, everybody is fighting, everybody is good. So, all these wins mean a lot for me.”
With a pair of victories this week in Washington, D.C., Eala (25-17 at tour-level in 2026) has reached her eighth career tour-level quarterfinal – and fifth this season – after semifinal runs at Auckland and Berlin, and quarterfinal finishes at Abu Dhabi and Dubai. She will take a 5-2 win-loss record against Top-10 opponents this season into her quarterfinal showdown with Svitolina on Stadium Court Friday night.
Debut win in DC ✅
Alex Eala passes the first test defeating Zheng 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/xQZ6uCNHkY
— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 28, 2026
Thanks to Eala’s amazing crowd support, all of her matches this week – first against wild card Zheng Qinwen of China on Tuesday and Fernandez on Wednesday – have been booked into Stadium Court, which has a seating capacity of 7,500. Eala, for one, admits she’s surprised by the size of the crowds that attend her matches – whether on major stages such as at the Australian Open, Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, or elsewhere like the Middle East swing – even here.
“I guess I don’t know what it is, but it seems to surprise me every time,” she said. “Sometimes I forget the impact that I hold, and sometimes I don’t expect the number of people who come and support, which is a really great thing, too. It’s like I’m reliving it every time, yeah.”
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Back home, Eala is a national hero. On the WTA Tour, she draws big crowds and media interest. Eala doesn’t see it as a burden that she’s carrying the flag of her home country and representing them on a world stage that tennis provides.
“It’s definitely not a burden. I would describe it more as a privilege, you know, and I’m very privileged to be able to carry my flag and to represent everything that comes with that,” she said.
“I’m very grateful to everybody who comes out to see me. I think it’s great for them to also experience, because I know a lot of them have never been to tennis events. So, I’m happy also to be able to, in one way or another, introduce a tennis event in their life. Yeah, I think that it’s a beautiful thing.
“But, you know, when I approach these things, it’s always kind of what I have to do, what do I need to be prepared, what do I need to – how do I need to work and so on and so forth. I know what I need to do to get where I want to be, and I trust my team, so yeah.”
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Eala was asked to describe the power of momentum she’s experienced on the WTA Tour this season and what it feels like. She said: “Having a lot of wins is definitely experience in my bag, and it helps with the confidence. It helps with the self-esteem.
“Of course, it makes you feel strong, but I think, you know, strength is defined by your toughest moments and how you handle that, so it’s very relative. I think the phrase [on my t-shirt] is not so much referring to results or anything, but the way I see it, it refers to dreaming, you know.
“So, I’ve always been very ambitious, so I think once you start dream, and it starts getting bigger, and you start to achieve maybe partially what your dreams are, then it’s kind of difficult for it not to flourish, yeah.”
This week, alone, Eala has been the subject of a lengthy feature story written by veteran tennis correspondent Ben Rothenberg for his Substack “Bounces,” and Filipina journalist Dyan Castillejo has been providing fans with multiple, daily on-site video reports via social media about Eala and her impact on the tournament – on and off the court.
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When Eala was asked if she could recall a moment when she knew she had really arrived on Tour and made her mark, she said: “Well, there have definitely been more kind of impactful moments for me, but that’s a funny thing.
“How I think about the tour is, okay, you can be there, and you can be established, but your spot on tour is never saved for you.
“You know, that’s what makes it so difficult to maintain the rankings. That’s why everybody is working so hard is because your spot is never guaranteed.
“In regards to the moment, I mean, the whole Wimbledon run for me, especially those two matches on Centre, were so crazy. Every time on Wimbledon Centre Court, it’s like I’m living out my dream. I’m living out my dream every day, but that was a little more special, yeah.”
