As the umpire declared the match point, Alexandra Eala dropped to the court in tears, aware that her nation had supported her throughout the event.

She battled through weather interruptions and dropping the opening set to beat world number three Jessica Pegula in the Washington Open final, marking her as the first player from the Philippines to claim a WTA title.

"To the Filipino community, here in DC and back home, wherever you are in the world. I really feel all the love."

Even Pegula noted the strong attendance on Monday for the delayed final from Sunday.

"I can definitely confirm this is the best Monday final crowd I have seen," the American said. "I am sure some people took off work. I will not tell them where you guys were."

Former world number one Rafael Nadal, whose academy Eala completed, praised her achievement on X: "A well-deserved title for all the hard work."

The future of the tour

At just 21 years old, this success has been building for Eala over time.

She began playing at age four, recalling: "I went to train every day after school with my ruffled socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks."

After joining Nadal's tennis academy, she trained alongside the 22-time Grand Slam winner.

She finished there in 2023, receiving her diploma from then world number one Iga Swiatek.

Three years on, Eala eliminated the Pole from Wimbledon, becoming the first from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the Open era.

Her progress showed clearly as she defeated the top three seeds at the Washington Open.

After her win over third seed Naomi Osaka, Pegula called the world number 20 "the future of the tour".

Our new champion

In 2022, Eala appeared on the cover of Vogue Philippines after becoming the first Filipina to win a junior Grand Slam title.

Yet her victory against Swiatek in the Miami Open quarter-finals in 2025 sparked fresh enthusiasm for tennis in the Philippines.

Support for the young player has grown, with lines to watch her matches lengthening and fans traveling globally to follow her.

More than 75,000 members of the Filipino community live in Washington, alongside four million across the US who will follow her at the US Open in late August.

"To all the Filipino fans that came out and have supported, you guys are helping grow tennis around the world," Pegula said after the match.

Fellow Filipino and ex-boxing champion Manny Pacquiao posted on social media that her comeback displayed the "heart of a Filipino" and named her "our new champion".

Former British number one Greg Rusedski called Eala "the most exciting player on the WTA Tour".

"She is fearless, she takes the ball early, she is a lefty," he said on his podcast Off Court With Greg Rusedski. "Her mentality is so good and so strong."

"The one area she needs in her game to win a major is to get that serve a bit better and more powerful.

"Maybe next year if she can get that improvement on the serve then she is definitely in the mix [for a major] because the rest of her game is there."

US Open champion and former world number one Andy Roddick labeled her "the real deal".

"She is just not scared to go against the top players," he said.

"For some reason what she does with switching directions and accepting pace and pinning people in corners, she is a name nobody wants to see early in a draw as a top player."