Alexandra Eala successfully continued her streak of wins over strong players, taking out four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka to advance to the Mubadala DC Open final where she’ll face home favorite Jessica Pegula.
The 21-year-old Eala continued her dream season by defeating third seed Osaka, 6-4 6-2 in the Washington semifinals. Both players held comfortably early on before Eala’s aggressive returning earned her the first break of the match and a 2-1 lead. Osaka quickly responded, converting her fourth break point to level the set before holding serve to take a 3-2 advantage.
The two players continued to trade holds until 4-4, but the Filipina sensation stepped up late in the set, using her powerful groundstrokes to earn another break before serving out the opener at love. Eala’s greater accuracy proved crucial, as she produced just 10 unforced errors while Osaka finished the set with 18.
In the second set, Eala faced no break points while breaking Osaka’s serve twice and closing out the match by winning the final three games.
Eala is still searching for her first WTA title after her only previous appearance in a final ended in a heartbreaking defeat in Eastbourne in 2025. Making her Washington, D.C. debut, the Filipina was handed one of the toughest possible draws, featuring some of the biggest names in the sport.
Along the way, Eala has defeated 2024 Australian Open finalist and Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, defending champion and 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, four-time Grand Slam semifinalist and former world No. 3 Elina Svitolina, and four-time major champion Naomi Osaka. Standing between her and the title now is another major challenge: 2024 US Open finalist and current world No. 3 Jessica Pegula.
Eala has enjoyed a breakthrough season, already collecting six wins over Top 10 opponents. A victory over Pegula would mark her seventh. The American leads the head-to-head 1-0. Their only previous meeting came in the 2025 Miami semifinals, where Pegula prevailed in a hard-fought battle, edging Eala 7-6(3) 5-7 6-3.
