Alex Eala Makes History as 1st Filipina to Win WTA Title, Watch Match Point and Speech in New Videos

Alexandra Eala became the first Filipina to ever win an event on the WTA Tour, defeating Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Monday at the DC Open final.

"Thank you to all my supporters, especially the Filipino community here in DC and back home," she said after the match. "Wherever you are in the world, I really feel all the love.

It was the 21-year-old's first win on the WTA Tour, though it was a bit delayed after heavy rains forced the final to be paused on Sunday in the second set and postponed until Monday.

Perhaps the delay was a blessing in disguise for Eala, who lost the first set and held in the second set at 2-1 before rains halted the proceedings. But she quickly took control of the match on Monday, winning the second set before completely dominating the third.

"I can definitely confirm for a Monday final, this is the best Monday final crowd I've seen," Pegula said after the match. "I'm sure some people took off work. I won't tell them where you guys were. It's amazing that you guys showed up. To all the Filipino fans that came out and have supported, you guys are helping grow tennis around the world and I appreciate that being a female athlete in tennis. We love to see that growth."

Eala had an incredibly impressive run to win the tournament, defeating 7-seed Leylah Fernandez in the second round, 2-seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, 3-seed Naomi Osaka in the semifinals and Pegula, the top overall seed, in the final.

With the victory she will now be ranked No. 20 on the WTA Tour.

Aryna Sabalenka remains the top-ranked player in the women's game, while Pegula is No. 3.