Eala downs Osaka, faces Pegula in Washington final
Alexandra Eala continues to hit new milestones in her young career, adding another on Saturday in Washington with a 6-4, 6-2 win over No 3 seed Naomi Osaka to reach the biggest final of her career.
THAT DC FINALIST FEELING š
Alex Eala defeats Osaka in straights to secure:
First 500 Level Final
First Hard-Court Final#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/A9fYNR1MCW ā wta (@WTA) August 1, 2026
Advertisement
Seeking her first WTA Tour title, the 21-year-old will face Jessica Pegula, who looked every bit the American No 1 in the earlier semifinal. Pegula defeated No 4 seed Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 27 minutes to reach her fourth final of the season.
Pegula leads their head-to-head 1-0, having won their lone meeting in last year's Miami semifinals in three tight sets.
Eala faced four break points - all in the fourth game of the match - and erased all but one. Otherwise, she was untouchable.
The dream run continues for Alex Eala š#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/S4Mh4Acoax ā wta (@WTA) August 1, 2026
She broke early for 2-1 in the first set, and although Osaka broke right back for 2-2, Eala earned a second break in the penultimate game and then held at love to take the set. The Filipina broke again to open the second and repeated the pattern, breaking in the penultimate game, this time to earn the chance to serve for the match.
Osaka saved one match point with a forehand return winner, but Eala closed it out to reach her first 500-level final ā and her first hard-court final.
PEGULA REACHES FOURHT FINAL OF 2026
The tournament's top seed is back in the Mubadala DC Open final for the second time, returning to the same court where she claimed her first career title in 2019.
While the scoreline suggests it was a straightforward win, the match was anything but.
FINALIST in DC ā”ļø@JPegula is through to another final in DC after defeating Shnaider in straight sets.#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/QYxVyJPIed ā wta (@WTA) August 1, 2026
Pegula quickly fell behind 5-2 in the opening set before ripping off five straight games to steal it from Shnaider's grasp. The run ultimately became part of a larger stretch in which she won 10 of 12 games, building her own 5-2 lead in the second.
But Shnaider refused to go away, breaking the World No 3 as she served for the match and closing the gap to 5-4. But Pegula finished the job on her second attempt, sealing the victory with a cracking crosscourt forehand to return to the Washington final for the first time in seven years.
THE NO. 1 SEED TO THE FINAL š¤@JPegula returns to the final in DC after defeating Shnaider in straight sets 7-5, 6-4.#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/qNa5kABSbz ā wta (@WTA) August 1, 2026
Pegula will look to continue that edge into Sunday's final as she chases her third title of 2026 and the 12th singles title of her career.
Advertisement