Camille Naredo

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates her win following a women's singles match against Leylah Fernandez of Canada during day three of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images/AFP

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates her win following a women's singles match against Leylah Fernandez of Canada during day three of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC.   Emilee Chinn/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Emilee Chinn / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

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Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 - Day 3

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1785546753868AFP__20260729__2288174830__v1__MidRes__MubadalaCitiDcOpen2026Day3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates her win following a women&#x27;s singles match against Leylah Fernandez of Canada during day three of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images/AFP"/>Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates her win following a women&#x27;s singles match against Leylah Fernandez of Canada during day three of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images/AFP</div>(UPDATED) Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is headed to the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open after a sensational win over second seed Elina Svitolina in the last eight, Friday (Saturday morning in Manila).Eala continued her superb run in the tournament, beating the Ukrainian veteran 6-3, 6-4.This marked her second win over Svitolina, having won their showdown at the Berlin Open last month with the same scoreline.&quot;I think I came in with a great mindset today. I think I was playing very well, and of course Elina hit some good shots,&quot; said Eala. &quot;She was being aggressive, especially in that second set.&quot;&quot;So I&#x27;m really happy that I was able to keep my rhythm.&quot;Eala and Svitolina traded breaks in the first five games of the opening set before the Filipina finally secured a crucial hold in the sixth game, capitalizing on her opponent&#x27;s errors for a 4-2 advantage.Svitolina held back in the next game, but Eala showed her trademark grit in the eighth game to seize control of the set. The Filipina battled back from a 0-40 hole to force a deuce, then fired a fine forehand winner to take a 5-3 lead.Eala proceeded to break Svitolina in the next game to take the opening set after 43 minutes.The Ukrainian veteran appeared to have turned things around after surging to 3-1 lead in the second set, but a crucial hold in the fifth game propelled Eala&#x27;s comeback.She would seize a 5-4 advantage with another strong service game. On her serve, Svitolina battled back from two match points to force a deuce, but the Ukrainian dumped a backhand into the net to put Eala on the brink again. A double fault sealed the victory for the Filipina rising star.With the result, Eala is now set to face Japan&#x27;s Naomi Osaka in the semifinals. &quot;She is of course such an accomplished player and I think she&#x27;s made waves on and off the tennis court for so many reasons. There&#x27;s so much respect to her for that,&quot; Eala said of Osaka. &quot;I&#x27;m really excited.&quot;<div> </div><div> </div>

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is headed to the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open after a sensational win over second seed Elina Svitolina, Friday (Saturday morning in Manila).

Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is headed to the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open after a sensational win over second seed Elina Svitolina, Friday (Saturday morning in Manila).

Alex Eala stuns Svitolina, advances to DC Open semis

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Alex Eala stuns Svitolina, advances to DC Open semis

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 01, 2026 08:52 AM PHT

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Updated August 01, 2026 09:16 AM PHT

Read More:

tennis

Mubadala DC Open

Elina Svitolina

Alex Eala

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