Alexandra Eala continues to make history for Philippine tennis. The 21-year-old world No. 28 defeated second seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, booking her place in the last four of the WTA 500 event.
It was a case of déjà vu. Just over a month after beating the world No. 10 on the grass of Berlin in June, in the quarter-finals and with the same 6-3, 6-4 scoreline, Eala repeated the trick on the hard courts of the American capital. The win, her sixth over a top-10 player this season, stretched her head-to-head lead over Svitolina to 2-0 and sent her through to her third semi-final of 2026 and her second at WTA 500 level.
The scoreline, however, tells only part of the story. After an opening set in which the pair traded breaks through the first five games, Eala held for 4-2 and closed it out by winning nine of the last ten points, breaking Svitolina once more to take it 6-3. The Ukrainian responded forcefully, racing to a 2-0 lead and stretching it to 3-1 with an ace. Eala clawed her way back, winning three straight games to move ahead 4-3, and after Svitolina levelled at 4-4, a forehand that clipped the line by the narrowest of margins set up match point. Svitolina saved the first two, but a double fault on the third handed Eala the victory.