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History Made: Alex Eala becomes first Southeast Asian to win WTA 500 crown
During the final of the 2025 WTA Eastbourne Open, Alex Eala endured the biggest heartbreak of her young career after squandering four championship points in a third-set tiebreak.
A little over a year later, not even a one-day rain delay or the challenge of facing World No. 3 Jessica Pegula could deny Eala her long-awaited breakthrough.
The 21-year-old Filipino rallied from a set down and unleashed every weapon in her arsenal to defeat top seed Pegula of the United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, and capture the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open title.
With the victory, Eala claimed the first WTA title of her career and made history as the first Southeast Asian to win a WTA 500 tournament.
Indonesian great Yayuk Basuki (six WTA titles) and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn (four titles) won tournaments equivalent to today’s WTA 250 level, while Indonesia’s Janice Tjen captured the WTA 250 Chennai Open crown last year.
(C) DC Open
Playing before a packed crowd at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, D.C., Eala matched Pegula shot for shot in a championship-worthy battle.
The Filipina attacked the American’s groundstrokes with precision, forcing Pegula to scramble across the baseline.
Pegula, however, relied on her trademark consistency, using deep, flat strokes to gradually push Eala behind the baseline.
Pegula struck first by breaking serve in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead, but Eala responded immediately with a break of her own to level the set.
Leading 4-3, Eala had two break-point opportunities to seize control, but Pegula held firm before reeling off the final three games to take the opening set.
Eala led 2-1 in the second set before rain forced the suspension of play.
When the match resumed the following day, the Filipina returned with renewed determination.
The pair remained on serve until 4-4, but Eala increasingly dictated the rallies, piling up winners and winning the longer exchanges.
She finally broke Pegula in the 10th game to force a deciding set.
The anticipated tense finish never materialized.
Instead, Eala completely dismantled the American in the third set.
Playing with relentless aggression and unwavering confidence, she overwhelmed a shell-shocked Pegula, winning six straight games to secure the biggest victory of her career and officially crown herself a WTA Tour champion.
Pegula entered the final as one of the hottest players on tour, having already captured the WTA 1000 Dubai Tennis Championships in February and the WTA 500 Charleston Open in April. But she had no answer for Eala’s dominant finish.
Eala sealed the championship on her first championship point, completing a stunning comeback and earning the biggest payday of her career.
The victory further strengthened Eala’s remarkable record against the world’s elite.
She now owns nine wins in 13 career matches against Top 10 opponents, the highest winning percentage among active players against the WTA Top 10.
She also avenged her semifinal defeat to Pegula at the 2025 Miami Open.
The title capped a spectacular week for Eala.
She opened her campaign by rallying past 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Eala then defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7(7)-6(1), in the second round before stunning second seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.
She carried that momentum into the semifinals, overpowering third seed Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-2, to book her place in the championship match, where she completed her historic run with the biggest victory of her career.
There will be little time for celebration, however, as Eala immediately shifts her focus to the WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Toronto. Awarded a first-round bye, she is set to begin her campaign in the second round on Wednesday.
The post History Made: Alex Eala becomes first Southeast Asian to win WTA 500 crown appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Two weeks after inaugurating its basketball courts, Mighty Sports Center will officially open its volleyball courts at AcroCity in Guiguinto, Bulacan, on Saturday, October 10, in what promises to be another festive affair.
Rising star Jolina Dela Cruz and veterans Jovelyn Gonzaga and Rachell Anne Daquiz, along with the rest of the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, will join the celebration dubbed “SET.SPIKE.PLAY.”
AcroCity and Czark Mak chairman Caesar Wongchuking, a longtime sports patron, said that aside from the exhibition match between ZUS Coffee and the Makata Selection of Bulacan at 4 p.m., the event will also feature a meet-and-greet session where fans can interact with their PVL idols.
“Just like the inauguration of the basketball courts, fans can interact with these professional volleyball players,” said Wongchuking. “It’s our own little way to giving back to communities.”
Wongchuking added that proceeds from the event will go to Tahanang Mapagpala of Immaculada Concepcion Foundation, Inc. He also thanked ZUS Coffee owner Frank Lao for allowing his players to take part in the celebration.
Also expected to grace the event are Bulacan Vice Governor Alex Castro and Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad.
The volleyball courts are part of the Mighty Sports Center at AcroCity, a development envisioned as a “Live, Work, Play” destination in Guiguinto.
Aside from its basketball and volleyball courts and modern fitness center, AcroCity is also home to Acro Residences Hotel, restaurants such as Cafe de Margaux and Mt. Fuji, and event venues including Ang Hardin and NDW Plaza, which is named after the Wongchuking family matriarch, Nelia D. Wongchuking.
The post ZUS Coffee to grace Mighty Sports Center volleyball court launch appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will begin their qualifying campaign for the U17 AFCON against Cote d’Ivoire next week Wednesday.
The match schedule is out!
Ouagadougou will host the WAFU B U-17 AFCON Qualifying Tournament Burkina Faso 2026 from 10 to 23 October 2026.
West Africa’s best U-17 teams will battle for qualification to the U-17 AFCON.
Check out the official match schedule!
#WAFUB #U17AFCON #BurkinaFaso2026 #RoadToAFCON #YouthFootball #AfricanFootball
#UFOAB #WAFUB #U17AFCON #BurkinaFaso2026 #RoadToAFCON #YouthFootball
— CAF ZONE OUEST B (@CafZoneOuestB) October 7, 2026
Their other Group B match will be against Niger three days later.
The WAFU B U17 AFCON qualifying tournament will kick off Saturday, when hosts Burkina Faso take on Benin and Ghana square up against Togo.
Burkina Faso head Group A, whose overall winners will face runners-up in Group B for a place in the championship game.
The post Golden Eaglets begin U17 AFCON qualifiers vs Cote d’Ivoire first appeared on Score Nigeria.
Alex Eala and Shaira Rivera hurdled their first test as a doubles pair, defeating Hong Kong’s Kallista Liu and Lai Ching Laam, 6-1, 6-3, in the opening round of the women’s doubles tournament at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Tuesday.
With the outdoor courts washed out by continuous rain, Eala and Rivera had their original schedule pushed back to the evening. The long delay, however, did little to disrupt their rhythm as they quickly took control of the match.
Eala, ranked No. 127 in the world in doubles, and Rivera, a standout at NCAA Division II school University of West Alabama, needed little time to jell as a pair.
(C) POC Media
After their opponents held serve in the opening game, the Filipinas rattled off six straight games to take the first set in just 33 minutes.
The second set lasted a bit longer, but Eala and Rivera remained in control for most of the way to seal the victory at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
The road ahead, however, will be considerably tougher in the second round. Eala and Rivera will face doubles specialists and third seeds Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan of China.
The 27-year-old Jiang is ranked No. 22 in the world in doubles and recently reached the Wimbledon semifinals. Then Yang, 31, has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 9 and has also reached the semifinals of the French Open.
Both Filipinas are also into the next round in their other competitions — Rivera with partner Francis Alcantara in mixed doubles, and Eala in the women’s singles.
The post Alex Eala, Shaira Rivera roll into Asian Games doubles second round appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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