Alexandra Eala beats defending champ Leylah Fernandez at Washington Open
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The win continues a breakout season for Alexandra Eala, who in June at Wimbledon became the first Philippine player to reach last 16 of a Grand Slam.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – Filipina rising star Alexandra Eala dumped out defending champion Leylah Fernandez to reach the quarter-finals of the Washington Open on July 29.
Eala, 21, defeated the seventh seed from Canada 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) for a place in the WTA Tour tournament’s last eight, battling back from 5-1 down in an epic second set.
It continues a breakout season for Eala, who in June made headlines beating Poland’s Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon to become the first Philippine player to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam, and has soared to 28th in the world rankings.
Eala took the first set 6-2, exploiting multiple unforced errors from Fernandez. The roles reversed early in the second set, which Fernandez led 5-1.
But Eala battled back to lead 6-5 before Fernandez finally held serve to force a tie-break.
Eala stormed into a 3-0 tie-break lead. Fernandez gained a foothold after a long rally, but Eala’s stunning cross-court forehand gave her five match points. She required only one.
“Everything’s kind of a blur right now. I really made an effort to stay in the moment, and I was ready for anything that could have happened,” said Eala.
“And luckily – well, it wasn’t a lot of luck – but luckily, it went my way.”
Fernandez had beaten Eala in straight sets in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier in 2026.
Victory meant Eala reaches her fifth quarter-final of a superb season, with either second-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina or Uzbekistan’s Polina Kudermetova awaiting in the next round.
Eala has been tipped to become a star of the women’s game since defeating Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semi-finals in 2025, and stoked that hype further with her recent Wimbledon run.
She enjoys huge support from her native Philippines, where she has been the South-east Asian nation’s biggest female sports star in recent years.
On July 28 in Washington, DC, Eala had rallied to defeat China’s Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 after 2hr 26min. AFP