Eala Masters Osaka, Reaches DC Open Title Match Against Pegula

Alexandra Eala
Alexandra Eala (photo: Wick Photography/Mubadala DC Open)

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

Competing in just her fifth career WTA Tour-level semifinal after Berlin and Auckland in 2026, and Eastbourne and Miami in 2025, Alexandra Eala has shown a sense of maturity in handling big-match situations.

In Saturday’s second women’s semifinal at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., the 28th-ranked Eala reached her second career WTA Tour final after a runner-up finish last year at Eastbourne – and first one at WTA 500-series level – by defeating World No. 13 and third seed Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 16 minutes on Stadium Court. 

The unseeded, 21-year-old Filipina sensation will face World No. 3 and top seed Jessica Pegula of the United States in Sunday afternoon’s Noon Eastern Time final after the American No. 1 defeated World No. 20 and fourth seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, 7-5, 6-4. Seven years ago, Pegula won her first title on the WTA Tour at the DC Open in 2019.

Since June, Eala has beaten Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina and Osaka. Now, she’s the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA 500 final after garnering her seventh Top-20 triumph of the 2026 season.

“I’m feeling great,” Eala said during her post-match news conference. “I thought it was a really good match, so I’m really proud of my performance. 

“I think the quality of my shot was pretty good today, and I did pretty well returning,” Eala added. “She’s obviously a great server. Some of the first balls were really good, as well. So, I think, yeah, those things.”

Against the four-time major champion Osaka, Eala hit 17 winners to offset 18 unforced errors, won 71 percent (20 of 28) first-serve points and back it up by taking 15 of 19 (79 percent) second-serve points. She saved three of four break points from Osaka – all in the fourth game of the match – and broke the Japanese superstar’s serve four times in 12 opportunities. Eala outpointed Osaka 62-44. By comparison, Osaka won just 59 percent (19 of 32) of her first-serve points. She hit 17 winners and committed 34 unforced errors. 

“I’m still locked in,” Eala said during her on-court interview after improving her tour-level win-loss record this season to 27-17. “Like, I don’t think it’s over yet. Super happy. I think I played really well. Such a meaningful match against a great player. Really happy to share the court with Naomi.”

Meanwhile, Osaka dropped to 22-9 this season after Eala denied her from reaching a 15th career tour-level final. In lieu of sitting for a post-match news conference, Osaka was asked in a one-on-one interview with a WTA spokesperson what positives she would take away from Washington, D.C., as she readies to compete next at the WTA 1000 event in Toronto. Osaka said: “It’s kind of funny because I only played, like, three matches. I mean, I just had a lot of fun. The crowd here was super cool and engaging, so I’m just really grateful. … I just hope to play better than I did today.”

During her on-court remarks, Eala praised Osaka as someone she’s always looked up to as a fellow Asian. “It’s such an honor to share the court with her,” Eala said. “I could never count her out. I had to be so locked in. I made it a point to be so locked in which is why until now I’m still in that mode of competition. I need time to let it sink in.”

Since dropping the first set of her first-round match against Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China on Tuesday, Eala has strung together eight-straight winning sets – and she’s been a crowd favorite of all fans, who have filled the 7,500-seat Stadium Court for each of her four matches. Eala knocked off defending champion Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the second round, and on Friday, she defeated World No. 10 and second seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

“Going into this tournament, I looked at the list, and it was, like, jam-packed,” Eala said. “It was big player after big player after big player. So, to be in the final really means a lot to me.

“I think I am really happy with how I performed and how I’ve conducted myself on court against these caliber of players. So, I really hope to keep the momentum moving, not just at this tournament, but for the rest of the hard-court swing.”

On Sunday, Eala will face Pegula for the second time after losing to her in the semifinal round at Miami last year. Eala has gone from being ranked 140th when she first played Pegula to knocking on the door of being ranked in the Top 20 next week. Her PIF WTA Live Ranking has risen to No. 24.

Pegula goes after second DC Open title after 2019 success

All three of Jessica Pegula’s previous meetings against Diana Shnaider have been won by the American No. 1, most recently on clay at Charleston last April. They previously met twice on hard courts at Toronto and at the US Open in 2024. On Saturday, Pegula won for the fourth-straight time, 7-5, 6-4, in one hour and 27 minutes to advance to Sunday’s title match.

In her third Washington, D.C., semifinal, Pegula recovered from down 2-5 in the opening set and won five of the next six games. After closing out the opening set strong, she kept on rolling in the next set and won on her second match-point opportunity with a demonstrative, fifth-shot forehand winner that zoomed across the court and out of Shnaider’s reach.

Making her seventh main draw appearance overall at Washington, D.C., Pegula won the 2019, which was her first on the WTA Tour. Now, she’s won 11 titles overall, and has reached 24 tour-level finals – including 18 on hard courts – and this will be her fourth final this season after Dubai, Charleston and Berlin.

Pegula hit 15 winners, won 66 percent (25 of 38) of her first-serve points, converted five of eight break points and outpointed Shnaider 72-58. It added up to her 38th victory of the season.

“I think 2-5 sounds dramatic but it’s only one break,” Pegula said, asked during her on-court interview what kinds of adjustments she made. “As you saw at the end, it was tough closing it out. I capitalized on a couple of errors. I just tried finding the rhythm on the return. … I don’t think I was that far off, a couple of points here and there. I just tried to pick up my energy and be more aggressive.”

Pegula gave props to Shnaider during her post-match interview. “She’s a really good player, very underrated. An all-around player, too,” she said.

Later, during her news conference, Pegula added: “Another good week to start my hard-court season, so just lots of positives to take, but always happy to be in another final. When you get a chance to win a tournament, it’s always a good week.”

Fritz reaches DC Open final for first time, Jodar next

World No. 10 and third seed Taylor Fritz survived his semifinal clash with fellow American and 33rd-ranked Brandon Nakashima, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in one hour and 46 minutes on Stadium Court Saturday evening to advance to his first Washington, D.C. final and fourth title match on the ATP Tour this season, after Dallas, Stuttgart and Halle.

The 28-year-old Fritz broke Nakashima early in the deciding set and rode steady to his 27th victory of the season. On Sunday, he will face 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar, ranked 24th, who came from a set down to defeat No. 30 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 23 minutes on Stadium Court Saturday night. Earlier this season, Fritz beat Jodar in straight sets in a second-round match at Delray Beach, Fla, in an ATP 250 outdoor hard-court event.

“Grabbing that break in the third set [made the difference],” Fritz said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “It was really a narrow margin the whole time. Not a lot of chances either way. First set I took my chance, in the second set he did. I played a really good break point in the third set, and I dug very deep to just keep holding.”

Fritz fired 13 aces and won 80 percent (36 of 45) of his first-serve points. He struck 24 winners, converted two of three break points and outpointed Nakashima 81-72.

During his news conference, Fritz was asked by a reporter just how tough a match it was against Nakashima. He said: “It was really tough. He’s serving really well, playing really well. I’ve played Brandon lots of times. I thought his level was really high, and it kind of just came down to me making the most of, like, the few chances that I got and then just staying solid on my serve. It was a match of just very tight margins.”

Routliffe and Sutjiadi win second doubles together

New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia ran the table this week in the women’s doubles draw at the DC Open. Through their four matches, which culminated in winning their second title as a team Saturday – and first one since winning Austin in 2023 – they did not drop a set and did not have to settle any scores with a 10-point match tie-break, either. In fact, they lost just 20 games total all tournament long.

The No. 2 seeds Routliffe and Sutjiadi defeated unseeded Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Makoto Ninomiya of Japan, 6-4, 6-1, in one hour and 12 minutes on Stadium Court to win the 500-series crown.

Routliffe and Sutjiadi combined to win 20 of 29 (69 percent) first-serve points and saved two of three break points. They broke their opponent’s serve four times in six tries and outpointed them 57-43. 

“With this scoring system, these matches are always so close,” Routliffe said during an interview with Tennis Channel. “We’re happy to not have to play a 10-pointer, I think. We’re so used to playing 10-pointers. We were happy we could get a break early and consolidate them.”

Stujiadi said of getting back together Routliffe after a long sabbatical, the chemistry was still there. “Even though it was [a] long [break], I don’t feel awkward on the court with her. It all seems like very natural.”

Afterward, Routliffe and Sutjiadi, who had not played together since winning the Austin title in 2023 until this week, confirmed during their Tennis Channel interview that they will remain together as a team next week in Toronto, then later in the month at Cincinnati and at the US Open, which begins in four weeks.

 

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Around the Mubadala DC Open

The men’s doubles semifinals took place on John Harris Court Saturday afternoon – and due to Sunday’s expected weather forecast calling for rain later in the afternoon, the doubles final will take place on the same court beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

In Saturday’s first semifinal, last year’s finalists Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France were defeated by Austin Krajicek of the United States and Nikola Mektic of Croatia, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), in one hour and 59 minutes.

Then, in the second semifinal, No. 3 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain faced no break points and advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over lucky losers Ariel Behar of Israel and Anirudh Chandrasekar of India in 63 minutes.

Both finalists have not dropped any sets this week. Krajicek and Mektic, who have won one title this season at Delray Beach, will take a 19-16 win-loss record into Sunday’s final against Cash and Glasspool (26-15), who won the title at Barcelona in April.

Saturday’s Mubadala DC Open men’s results

Saturday’s Mubadala DC Open women’s results

Sunday’s Mubadala DC Open order of play

By the numbers

There have been eight teenaged men’s finalists in the history of the DC Open. They include: Jimmy Arias (1982-83), Aaron Krickstein (1984), Andy Roddick (2001), Andy Murray (2006), Juan Martin del Potro (2008), Alex de Minaur (2018), and Jannik Sinner (2021), and Rafael Jodar (2026). 

“Quotable …”

“My parents have really taught me a lot about that emotional control. Of course, I try to dictate my emotions instead of letting the emotions dictate me. It’s definitely a skill. I’m striving to master that. It’s definitely easier said than done, learning process. I think every match is different, so it’s very difficult, but I’m trying, yeah.”

– Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, during her post-match news conference Friday after defeating World No. 10 and second seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinal round.

 

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