The Washington, DC rain was going to try to upset the happiness of whoever won the 2026 Citi Open title between Alex Eala and Jessica Pegula. The final was pushed back three hours, and Eala's legion of fans had to keep waiting. Meanwhile, Pegula, who has won plenty of titles, including previously winning in DC, just counted down the minutes.
The pressure was more on Eala. She hadn't won a title before, other than a WTA 125 event. She needed to prove to her followers that she was more than worthy of watching and spending lots of cash in order to go see her play globally. She didn't want to be the next Anna Kournikova, a popular player who never won a singles tournament.
Instead, she wanted to keep ascending on tour, just 21 years old, and hoping for a long-term impact and a constant top-10 ranking. She likely thought before the match that it wouldn't be easy. Pegula is a brilliant player, but maybe not truly elite, who never gives up in any match.
Alex Eala dominates Jessica Pegula at the end of their 2026 Citi Open final for her first title
This implied the final would be a tight match where at any point, a player could take advantage, but only tenuously so.
Such was the case in the first set. Pegula got the first break to take a 3-2 lead, only to be broken relatively easily in the next game. Eala then held to lead 4-3, and even had a couple of chances to get to 5-3, but the American held. Pegula then got a break in the next game and was serving for the set.
What was unfolding was a match between two players of the same ilk. Neither has any elite aspect, but neither truly struggles in any aspect. The Filipina, for instance, could have a better and more powerful serve, but she makes the best of the power she has. She is also improving in that area.
But the players' mental toughness cannot be questioned. That has carried Pegula to great success, though one without a Grand Slam victory yet, and will probably do the same for Eala. Believing in oneself, sticking to a game plan, and never giving up are three traits that often go underrated. Not with Alexandra Eala and Jessica Pegula, however.
To try to get her first title, Eala might have needed to win the first set, but she couldn't. Pegula was ruthless, serving out the first set and not giving up a point in the game. She had a set lead, and her winning in three sets seemed unlikely.
The Filipina had time to do a reset, though, at 2-1 in the second set. The rain began to pour again, which meant, mentally, Eala and Pegula would have to restart what they were trying to accomplish. The American knew she had a lead and could relax, but only to a degree. Eala couldn't. How they came out after the long rain delay would likely be telling, and the match was suspended until Monday.
When the match resumed, Eala didn't just play a bit better than Pegula; the Filipina arguably played the best tennis of her career. Her ability to come out focused was astonishing. With the same kind of wicked second serve she used against Naomi Osaka in the semifinals, Eala dominated with her serve and then got a break of Pegula to take the set 6-4.
That would be just the second win of a run of seven. Alexandra Eala wasn't just winning the third set and, therefore, the match, but she was changing the narrative of her career in front of a Citi Open crowd that was firmly behind her.
The American had no answers and wouldn't win a game in set three. Eala had won her first WTA title in stunning fashion. The victory will probably be the Filipina's first of many in her career.
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