By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
More than etching her name in history with her maiden WTA Tour title, Alex Eala walked away from the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C. with a career-best payday.
The 21-year-old Filipina tennis sensation earned a whopping $252,000 (around P15.3 million) championship purse after stunning world No. 3 and 2019 champion Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, in the rain-delayed final.
The hefty reward was a fitting bonus for Eala, who battled through a star-studded field and knocked off one elite opponent after another on her way to becoming the first Filipina to win a WTA Tour singles title.
Prior to defeating Pegula, she shocked 2024 Paris Olympics champion Zheng Qinwen, defending champion and 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, second seed and 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze winner Elina Svitolina, and third seed and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
According to her WTA profile, her career prize money has now climbed to $1,537,300 (around P93.6 million).
But for the rising Filipina star, the prize purse remains secondary to the milestone she achieved — a historic WTA crown that will forever stand as her greatest reward.
