Alex Eala now ranked World No. 20 after clinching first WTA title
Alex Eala made history again as she claimed the World No. 20 spot in the latest WTA rankings, becoming the first Filipino to do so.
This, after Eala capped her hard-fought run at the Mubadala DC Open with a 4–6, 6–4, 6–0 victory against top-seeded Jessica Pegula in the final held early Tuesday morning (Philippine time).
Eala, 21, entered the final ranked 28th, which she earned after beating World No. 8 and defending champion Iga Swiatek in the third round at Wimbledon last month.
This time last year, Eala was ranked 147 in the WTA singles rankings.
Per WTA, Eala's fight toward her first singles title was "one of the toughest paths to a trophy in recent memory."
On July 28, the Filipina secured a spot in the tournament's second round after staging a comeback victory against Zheng Qinwen. In the Round of 16, Eala defeated defending champion and 7th seed Leylah Fernandez. Next, Eala went against No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals with a 6–3, 6–4 triumph. The semifinals pitted Eala against four-time Grand Slam champion and No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka, with Eala clinching a 6–4, 6–2 victory.
All Eala's opponents at the Mubadala DC Open were Olympians.
In her final match against Pegula, Eala laid low in the first set, with Pegula claiming the win. After the match was interrupted by bad weather, which pushed it back by a day, Eala powered over Pegula in the second and third sets, ultimately winning the championship.
"Just pure happiness," Eala said in her post-match interview, referring to her new title. "Oh my gosh, winning a 500, it's insane. It's an incredible milestone for me."
"At the beginning of the week, there is no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy. Even at the beginning of the year," Eala said. "These things kind of creep up on you and I hold these moments really close to me."
