Alexa Eala of the Philippines shakes hands with Leylah Fernandez of Canada after their women's singles match during day three of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, DC. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images via AFP
Filipina tennis star Alex Eala showed resiliency in face of a tough challenge by defending champion and fellow lefty Leylah Fernandez in the Round of 16 of the 2026 Mubadala DC Open.
Down 1-5 in the second set against Fernandez, Eala made a comeback for the ages, stealing the set and the match, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1), to advance to the quarterfinals.
"Siyempre nakapasok sa isip ko 'yung pwedeng mag-third set,” Eala admitted. “Pero naisip ko din na hindi pa tapos 'yung set na 'to.”
Eala said that she has been ready for all possible scenarios: “You have to be ready for everything. Handa talaga sa lahat.”
READ: Tennis: Alex Eala dethrones Fernandez, advances to DC Open q'finals
Asked if she ever surprises herself with big results like these, Eala kept it grounded.
“Of course, masaya sa bawat tagumpay. I think at this level, everybody’s a difficult opponent. So each match really means a lot,” she said.
On the second-set dip that gave Fernandez a 5-1 lead, Eala acknowledged there was a drop in her level but said staying in it point by point was the only thing on her mind.
“I mean, I think there was definitely a little dip in terms of the level. Pero nakabawi naman ako,” she said. “Every time it was just trying to stay there point by point and trying to do my best to get back.”
READ: Alex Eala opens DC Open with come from behind 3-set win vs Zheng
The 21-year old gave her all in the tie-break, but stayed in the moment and made it.
“May pagka-auto-pilot din. Pero 'yun lang, yung every point. I think every point counts, lalo na kapag tiebreak,” she said. “It’s so fast, it switches up so fast. So yeah, that’s kind of the whole motto, every point counts.”
Playing back-to-back matches on center court, Eala said that she still got a full eight hours of sleep after the win over Qinwen Zheng Tuesday.
“It’s my job. Nakatulog din ako. Recovery is part of the job,” she said. “At the end, it’s kind of your body breaking down, you’re building it back up again, breaking down, building it back up again. But that’s the life of an athlete.”
With a day off before her next match, Eala said she will use the time wisely.
“Okay naman. Handa para sa lahat. So, if I needed to play tomorrow, game. But yeah, it’s nice to have a day off,” she said.
She closed with a message for the fans back home who stay up through the night to watch her play: “Salamat, Team Puyat!”