THE SUN finally shone in Washington and cleared the path to history for Alex Eala.
After rain pushed back the biggest match of her young career, the Filipina No. 28 weathered world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, to capture her maiden WTA Tour title at the Mubadala DC Open early Tuesday, Manila time.
It took Eala a full day to get it done, but only an hour and 43 minutes of play to earn a timely measure of payback against the American in front of her home crowd at the tournament where Pegula won her breakthrough WTA title.
READ: What's behind Eala's penchant for taking down foes in Top 10?
Along the way, Eala defeated Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, defending champion Leylah Fernandez, world No. 10 Elina Svitolina, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka, and finally world No. 3 Pegula to complete the most remarkable week of her career.
The victory also meant Eala has now beaten every Top 10 player she has faced, improving her record against the elite to 9-4.
From a set down, Eala turned the tide after an overnight rain suspension halted the match at 2-2 in the second set.
The Filipina returned in complete control, winning four of the final six games to force a decider before overwhelming Pegula with a dominant 6-0 third-set sweep.
Mubadala DC Open is also Eala's first WTA 500 appearance.
The only time she went as far as the title round was in WTA 250 Eastbourne in 2025 where she lost to Maya Joint.
Before DC, Eala only has two WTA 125 titles from Guadalajara 2025 and Birminghan Open 2026.
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