Eala reyna sa Mubadala Open

MANILA, Philippines — Kasabay ng pagsikat ng araw sa Washington ay ang pagkopo ni Alex Eala ng korona sa Mubadala Citi DC Open.

Pinabagsak ng Pinay tennis ace si World No. 3 at tournament top seed Jessica Pegula ng United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, sa finals para angkinin ang kauna-unahan niyang WTA 500 tournament title.

Nauna nang nakuha ni Eala ang mga korona sa WTA 125 tournament sa Guadalajara 2025 at sa Birmingham Open 2026.

“The Filipino community here in DC, and back home, and wherever you are in the world, I feel all the love. Maraming salamat, kababayan,” ani Eala.

Kinailangan ng tournament organizer na ipagpaliban ang finals match dahil sa malakas na buhos ng ulan kung saan lamang si Eala sa 2-1 sa second set matapos ang 6-4 panalo ni Pegula sa first set.

Sa kanyang pagbabalik sa hardcourt kinabukasan ay tuluyan nang dinomina ng 21-anyos na si Eala ang second set, 6-4, bago walisin ang 32-anyos na si Pegula sa second set patungo sa pagkopo sa Mubadala DC Open trophy.

“I think I warmed up a thousand times,” ani Eala. “It was difficult, I think ... at the same time, it’s happened to me a lot; rain delays a lot of times in my life. I think this is just kind of another one of those, although it was a lot higher stakes. But I think I was able to take my time and take those learnings from the first half of the match and do my best to apply them in the second, and I think it worked pretty well.”

Papasok sa finals ay magkakasunod na sinibak ni Eala sina World No. 13 Naomi Osaka ng Japan, 6-4, 6-2, sa semifinals, tournament second seed at dating World No. 3 Elina Svitolina ng Ukraine sa quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4, defending champion Leylah Fernandez ng Canada, 6-2, 7-6 (1), sa second round at reigning Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng ng China, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, sa first round.

Nakaganti rin si Eala kay Pegula, may 11 singles titles at pitong doubles crowns sa WTA Tour, na tumalo sa kanya sa semifinals ng 2025 Miami Open, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3.

“First, I want to congratulate Alex (Eala) on an amazing week, an amazing tournament. I don’t know how much more I can say, but you’re an amazing player,” sabi ng American netter na isa sa mga top 10 players na tinalo ni Eala ngayong taon.

Ang iba pa ay sina No. 2 Elena Rybakina (second round ng Berlin Open), No. 3 Iga Swiatek (third round ng Wimbledon), No. 4 Coco Gauf (third round ng Indian Wells Open), No. 5 Madison Keys (third round ng Miami Open at No. 8 Jasmine Paolini (second round ng Dubai Tennis Championship).