Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates after winning a women’s singles match against Naomi Osaka of Japan on day six of the Mubadala DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on August 01, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Getty Images via AFP)
Filipina tennis star Alexandra “Alex” Eala hacked out a stunning sweep over four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan, 6-4, 6-2, to barge into the finals of the Mubadala DC Open at the FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, D.C., United States early Sunday morning (Philippine time).
The world No. 28 Eala displayed her formidable return game in the first set then proceeded to dominate the former world No. 1 and now No. 13 Osaka to secure her first finals berth in a WTA 500 tournament.
“I’m super happy. I think I played really well and of course this is such a meaningful match against a great player so I’m really happy to share the court with Naomi,” Eala said in the post-match interview.
With the victory, Eala arranged a marquee championship showdown against No. 3 and top seed Jessica Pegula of USA, who brushed aside Russia’s Diana Shnaider, 7-5, 6-4, in the other semifinal pairing.
Coming off a string of wins against seeded players, Eala went toe-to-toe with the third seed Osaka in the opening set as the two Asians scored a break point each for a 4-4 deadlock.
Eala then broke Osaka in the ninth game with a solid return shot down the line before closing out the set with a perfect game.
The 21-year-old Pinay lefty kept her momentum going and zoomed to an early 2-0 lead in the second set.
Osaka battled hard to deny Eala four break point opportunities and hold serve in the fifth game to close within 2-3.
But that proved to be the last fight from the Japanese as the Filipina ace won the next three games to seal the massive victory in just over an hour.