It was the first 500-level title since 2022 for Fritz and the first WTA title ever for Eala.
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The DC Open was granted an uncommonly favorable week of weather for much of the tournament, but the good luck ran out for the finals. The men’s and women’s singles finals were pushed to Monday after hours of delays Sunday that left the women’s match unfinished and the men’s unstarted.
A decent chunk of the crowd returned to Rock Creek Park for Monday’s matches, bolstered by an offer for free access to the first 1,000 fans who arrived at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center before play resumed.
In the women’s final, 21-year-old Alex Eala of the Philippines pulled off a three-set comeback against Jessica Pegula, the DC Open champion in 2019 and current world No. 3. Eala’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory secured her first WTA Tour title.
On the men’s side, Taylor Fritz and Rafael Jodar began their final just before 2 p.m., nearly 24 hours after initially planned. Fritz, ranked ninth in the world and a 10-time ATP Tour title winner, beat Jodar, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, to win his first 500-level title since 2022.
After the match point, Fritz flung his racket to the court and dropped onto his back. Coming into the tournament, he was 0 for 3 in finals this year, so this victory felt good.
“It was more like I was tired. It was just relief, like thank God I got it done, thank God the match is over,” a grinning Fritz said of his reaction after he won. “It wasn’t so much as, like, a celebration. Just thank God I’m done. I can just lay down for a second.”
Pegula and Eala’s match, originally scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, was moved forward to noon in anticipation of the evening’s bad weather, but the rain came early and rarely let up. The noon start became 3 p.m., and they got through one set and three games of the second before the rain started to fall again.
After more than five hours of the second delay, play was called for the night at about 9:15. The women were on serve in the second set, with Eala up 2-1 but Pegula’s service game coming next, when the day ended.
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The tournament honored Sunday’s tickets for anyone who wanted to come back Monday, in addition to the free access for early arrivals. The 7,500-seat stadium was nowhere near full, but the vast majority of those who did turn up were in full-throated support of Eala.
“The crowd today was really loud,” Pegula said. “Honestly, sometimes I’m just so in my own world, I don’t quite notice how crazy it is, because I feel like my perception might be different than people sitting in the crowd. It was really nice to see a really big turnout today. I think for a Monday final, that was really nice to have. Even though it didn’t go my way, I think it was really still a great atmosphere.”
The remainder of the second set was tight, but when Eala broke Pegula’s serve to win the set 6-4, her Filipino-flag-waving fans started to sense the outcome they were hoping to see.
Eala raced through the third set, while Pegula offered little resistance. The 21-year-old quickly went up 5-0, then had a triple break point on Pegula’s serve to win the match. Eala couldn’t convert the first opportunity, but at 40-15, their short rally ended with Pegula missing a backhand wide.
As she registered the miss, Eala fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Overcome with emotion, she jogged to the net to share a brief hug with Pegula, then dropped back to her knees.
“I was so nervous. I kind of just blacked out,” Eala said. “Everything just came rushing to me, and I was really nervous before the last couple of points. I was really trying to channel those nerves into hitting good balls and moving my feet. A huge burst of emotions.”
Eala is the first woman from the Philippines to win a WTA title, adding to the already lengthy list of accomplishments she holds even at this early stage of her career.
“Winning a 500, it’s insane,” Eala said. “It’s an incredible milestone for me. You know, at the beginning of the week, there is no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy. Even at the beginning of the year. These things kind of creep up on you, and I hold these moments really close to me.”
