4 rain-delayed matches that prepared Alex Eala for DC Open glory

Rain had nearly slowed Alex Eala down more than once with the Filipina tennis star seeing some of her biggest matches interrupted by bad weather multiple times in the past.

But instead of letting the delays derail her momentum, the 21-year-old ace has turned each stoppage into an opportunity to reset, regroup, and eventually prevail.

READ MORE | Alex Eala vs. Jessica Pegula DC Open final suspended for the day

Here are the rain-delayed matches that helped shape Eala before her historic DC Open triumph.

Oeiras Ladies Open (April 15, 2025)

Eala overcame bad weather to flip the switch and eventually pull off a 6-3, 6-4 win against Anouk Koevermans of Netherlands in the Round of 32 of the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal.

That match was stopped at the 3-2 mark of the second set, but resumed after 20 minutes.

However, the match was pushed back for the next 24 hours due to inclement weather with Eala staring at a 2-4 disadvantage.

She came back the next day inspired, ousting the Dutch foe and moving on to the Round of 16.

But Eala, the top-seeded player of that tournament, eventually lost to Panna Udvardy in the next round to bow out of the competition.

Guadalajara 125 Open (September 5, 2025)

The same happened in her run at the 2025 Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico, where the game was suspended for a day due to heavy downpour that occurred late in the third set in her Round of 16 match against Varvara Lepchenko.

In the resumption, Eala came out firing and won three of the last three games complete a hard-fought 6(3)-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

Eala went on to win the whole tournament, avenging her previous loss to Udvardy by eking out a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 win in the finals to bag her first-ever WTA125 title.

Suzhou Open (September 30, 2025)

Eala faced a three-hour delay at the 2025 Suzhou Open in China, where her Round of 32 match against Katarzyna Kawa of Poland was halted in Set 1 by the inclement weather.

Still, Eala was unfazed by the bad weather and pulled off a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win.

She would win her next match, but fell to Viktorija Golubic in the quarterfinals to crash out of the tournament.

Birmingham Open (June 7, 2026)

Like during her first WTA 125 title run, Eala also had to contend with bad weather on her way to her second WTA125 crown.

Facing Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova in the Birmingham Open semifinals, Eala was stopped by the rain late in the deciding set with the Filipina holding a 5-2 advantage.

When the clash resumed, Masarova claimed one more game but Eala found the finishing blow to complete the 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory and punch her finals ticket.

Eala then went on completing the title romp, carving out a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 win against Nikola Bartunkova to win her first tournament of the year and start what would be a huge grass-court swing in her campaign.

After the Birmingham Open, Eala reached the Berlin Open semifinals by ousting the likes of Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina before reaching the Round of 16 of the Wimbledon.

In the recent Mubadala DC Open, Eala was once again tested by the weather, but the Filipina star stormed to the top and stunned Jessica Pegula to seize her first WTA Tour title and emerge as the first Filipina to ever do it.

—JMB, GMA News