Eala to face Pegula in Washington final after stunning Osaka

Alexandra Eala will play top seed Jessica Pegula in Sunday’s final of the Mubadala DC Open, after both women advanced through contrasting semi-finals on Saturday. Eala beat No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 to become the first Filipino player to reach a WTA 500 singles final, while Pegula recovered from 2-5 down in the first set to beat No. 4 seed Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4.

Eala’s win over Osaka capped a week in which the 21-year-old also beat two Olympic medallists, No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina and former top-10 player Qinwen Zheng, as well as defending champion Leylah Fernandez. “I’m still locked in… Like, I don’t think it’s over yet,” Eala said after beating Osaka.

“Such a meaningful match against a great player. Really happy to share the court with Naomi.” She added: “I could never count her out. I had to be so locked in. I made it a point to be so locked in which is why until now I’m still in that mode of competition. I need time to let it sink in.”

The run, part of a fearless stretch of tennis Eala has produced since the start of the grass season, lifts her to a new career-high ranking of No. 24, with a chance to climb to No. 20 if she wins the title. It is her second WTA final.

1-0 Pegula

Pegula, ranked No. 3, steadied after her slow start against Shnaider to reach the Washington final for the first time since 2019, extending her head-to-head record against the Russian to 4-0. It is her fourth final of the season and her 38th win of the year, following earlier wins over No. 5 seed Anna Kalinskaya and Magdalena Frech.

Pegula holds a 1-0 career head-to-head lead over Eala, the pair’s only previous meeting having come in Miami last season. Both players lean on aggressive but disciplined hard-court games, setting up a final that could reward whoever imposes their pace first on Sunday.