Eala Charges Past Zheng Into Washington, DC Showdown vs. Defending Champion Fernandez

By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Photo credit: Jeff Dean/Wick Photography for Mubadala DC Open

Sliding behind the baseline like a commuter chasing a departing train, Zheng Qinwen waved her racquet in vain as the ball blurred by her.

Down a set and a break, Alexandrea Eala repeatedly crashed drives down the line to give the Olympic gold-medal champion the runaround.

The Eala express raced through nine of the last 10 games roaring past Zheng 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a winning Washington, DC debut.

“I think it’s definitely a mindset that you have. That being said, I think it’s been trained or I’ve practiced,” Eala said of her fight-back. “I’ve had more experience now to implement that mindset at the higher level.

“I guess that just comes also with the level of my tennis getting higher because you always want to win, and you always want to fight. But I think now with the progress I’ve had this past year, I have a bit more of ammunition to back it up, yeah.”

Attacking her shots with conviction, Eala converted six of eight break points and withstood 14 aces from former world No. 4 Zheng on a steamy day at the Mubadala DC Open.

Empowered by her run to the Wimbledon fourth round that saw her toppled defending-champion Iga Swiatek along the way, the 21-year-old Filipina phenom played off the front foot more frequently—and showed a stronger sense of self belief—surging through the final set.

The left-handed Eala streaked through eight of the first nine points in the final set as she charged out to a 4-0 lead.

The pair traded breaks in the fifth and sixth games before Eala closed a sweaty two hour, 26-minute battle on her first match point.

The 28th-ranked Eala improves to 24-17 on the season.

“Of course, you’re going to do everything you can to win, but you have to expect that she’s going to make it difficult for you, and you have to do your best to make it difficult for her,” Eala said. “I think that’s kind of the essence of tennis.

“The essence of competition is you’re trying to make the other person uncomfortable; they’re trying to do the same. It’s just a back and forth, right, yeah.”

Wild card Zheng, whose ranking has dropped to No. 123, suffered her third opening-round exit in her last six tournaments.

The victory vaults 2025 Miami semifinalist Eala into a showdown vs. reigning champion Leylah Fernandez for a Washington, DC quarterfinal spot.

The seventh-seeded Fernandez swept Magda Linette 6-1, 6-4 to score her sixth straight win in Washington, DC yesterday.

The first strike will be crucial in the second career clash between Eala and Fernandez.

In their lone prior meeting, Fernandez swept Eala, 6-1, 6-4, on the red clay of Stuttgart in April. Facing Eala on her favored hard courts poses a tougher test, Fernandez said.

“Alex, she’s having a tremendous year, winning some tough matches, coming off a great Wimbledon run,” Fernandez said. “It’s going to be a tough match. 

“For myself, I’m just going to focus on my own game and what I can do to neutralize [her] and make [her] uncomfortable.”