WASHINGTON D.C. — Alex Eala defeated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open on Saturday to reach her second career tour-level final and her first at a WTA 500 event. The 21-year-old from the Philippines may be the most popular up-and-coming star in tennis and her success this week has been a huge win for the tournament.
She will take on the world’s No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the final at noon on Sunday.
Eala has drawn raucous crowds of Filipino supporters wherever she’s played over the past 12 months. At her Australian Open debut in January, hundreds, if not thousands, of fans waited in lines to get into her first round match on a small outer court, but most of them never got to see her play because the crowds were too big.
“One of the first times that I was really kind of taken aback was this year in the Australian Open,” Eala said. “Then as well the whole Middle Eastern swing was very eye-opening for me.”
DC Open chairman Mark Ein wanted to ride the Eala wave. “Earlier this year in the early spring our team said ‘this is a phenomenon that’s spreading, and we should try to get Alex to come to Washington,’” Ein said in a press conference on Tuesday. “Having her here is honestly one of the really great things that’s [happened] this year.”
