The 2026 Citi Open was set up to be one that many tennis fans were going to make a point to watch. This is especially true of the women's final between Alex Eala and Jessica Pegula. Eala was trying to win her first-ever WTA Tour title, and even though the match was in Washington, DC, there was little doubt who the crowd was behind.
Pegula is an accomplished veteran who is a class act on and off the court. Eala, though, is a 21-year-old rising star on tour with an entire nation behind her. Tennis is better because more Filipinos are watching. That isn't going to change any time soon as long as Eala keeps playing and winning, and that is probably only going to happen more in the future.
After the final, which saw the Filipina drop the opening set only to race back in set two and finish the match by winning the last eight games. She was aggressive with elite groundstrokes and a slightly slower second serve that has so much wiggle on it that even the brilliant Pegula struggled with it.
Alex Eala and Jessica Pegula give thanks to Filipinos after their final at the Citi Open
Once the match was done and the players made their on-court speeches, one theme became clear: The players knew who to thank for the huge turnout and who was only going to drive future tournaments that Eala plays in.
"This is the best Monday final crowd I've seen," Pegula said while collecting the trophy for runner-up, "...To all the Filipino fans that came out, and have supported (crowd cheered). You guys are so helping to grow tennis around the world, and I appreciate that. Being a female athlete, being in tennis, we love to see that growth."
"To all my supporters," Eala started, "thank you guys...especially the Filipino community here in DC, and back home, and wherever you are around the world. I really feel all the love...Before the final yesterday, I got so many messages. Sweet messages from my family and from my friends who are on tour or wherever else in the world, and I thought to myself, 'I feel so much love.'"
Like any sport, becoming stagnant isn't good. Growing the fanbase is a must. That is what makes Alexandra Eala so important. She might not have won a title before Monday, but she has now, and she likely will in the future. As she said in her speech, she doesn't plan on making the 2026 Citi Open the only tournament she wins.
And the more she wins, the better tennis will be. Her success hopefully gets younger Filipinos into tennis. The nation can become a real player in the sport. The more the better in terms of both financial success for tennis and elevating the play overall.
Next for Alex Eala, who has moved up to a career-high No. 20 in the live WTA rankings, and her legion of fans will be the Canadian Open. She is scheduled to play the night session on Wednesday. Not unexpectedly, the match sold out quickly.
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