Alex Eala opened her hard-court campaign in Washington with a comeback that underlined both her resolve and the progress she has made over the past year. After a sluggish beginning, she was staring at an early exit against former world No 4 Zheng Qinwen before finding a way through in three sets.

The Filipina had last competed on grass at Wimbledon, where she produced another milestone run to the round of 16. Her return to North America began unevenly, however, as she fell a set and a break behind after being broken to love in game seven of the second set.

That was the moment the match shifted. Eala responded immediately by breaking back in game eight, again to love, then held firm before earning another break to level the contest. She carried that momentum into the decider, storming ahead 4-0 with two breaks and closing out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory at the WTA 500 event to book her place in the round of 16.

Eala was quick to credit her coach Joan Bosch, stating: “He said that I just have to keep going because if I’m there for every ball, I’ll have my chances. And I did. Like always, he’s right.”

She also pointed to the second-set break as the key passage of play. “I definitely think it helped,” she said about the break. “Maybe if I hadn’t gotten that break, who knows? Maybe it would have been too big of a gap. You never know in tennis, but that definitely helped me I think.”

Now ranked a career-high No 28 with 1,666 points, Eala will hold that position for the moment, though a deeper run could lift her further. A quarter-final appearance could push her to No 25.

Next up is a difficult test against defending champion Leylah Fernandez, who advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Magda Linette. “I think it’s going to be a very tough match for me,” Eala said during her on-court interview. “Leylah is such an amazing player and an amazing person as well.”

Alex Eala and Venus Williams will not take the court together at this week’s Washington DC Open, after the Filipina confirmed why the doubles pairing was set aside for now.

The 21-year-old had joined the former world No 1 on grass at the Bad Homburg Open in June, a run that carried them to the quarter-finals before they were beaten by the second-seeded duo of Olivia Nicholls and Tereza Mihalikova. The same partnership had been scheduled to continue on hard courts at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, where the pair had received a wildcard entry.

That plan changed over the weekend, when Williams was instead announced alongside Diana Shnaider in the women’s doubles. Williams said, “[It] didn’t work out this time. Would love for there to be future times. We’ll see what happens”.

Both players remain in the singles draw in Washington DC, and Eala later explained that stepping away from doubles was the right call as she returns to competition.

“I have so much respect for Venus. I am so grateful for every opportunity that I have to be around her, to learn from her, to hit with her,” the world No 28 said at her press conference.

“But I do think this is my first week coming back, and I think that Venus is someone who deserves a partner who can give their all physically, emotionally, mentally when they’re on court with her.

“I think right now I think I can only do that for singles. I don’t have the capacity yet to be able to give that in both singles and doubles. I’m really grateful for the opportunity that I had, or have, and hopefully we see more of it in the future.”

Eala’s singles path begins with a difficult first-round meeting against Zheng Qinwen. The former world No 4 and 2024 Australian Open runner-up has endured a difficult spell, losing in the opening round at both the French Open and Wimbledon. She is now ranked No 123 and required a wildcard to enter the event.

Eala arrives after reaching the Wimbledon last 16, where she defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek, and she remains in position to push toward the top 20 during the North American hard-court swing.

Emma Navarro ended a 15-month title drought with a determined performance to win the WTA 500 clay event in Strasbourg on Saturday. She defeated Victoria Mboko in three sets, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2, securing her first victory over a Top 10 opponent this season and the equal-biggest title of her career.

Navarro entered the week having slipped to No. 39, her lowest ranking since 2023, after falling out of the Top 20 in March and missing Miami, Charleston and Madrid because of health struggles. The Strasbourg crown lifts her from No. 39 to No. 25, returning her to the Top 30 and providing a timely confidence boost ahead of Roland Garros.

“I want to congratulate Victoria on a great week,” she said. “You made it really tough on me today, and you would’ve beaten me 0 and 0 when I was your age, so you’re doing a lot of good stuff.

“Keep doing it.”

Navarro’s path to the title included wins over Top 20 player Iva Jovic in the second round and a hard-fought quarterfinal against Zhang Shuai. She had never beaten Zhang in three previous meetings before prevailing 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Zhang not only won the first set but served for it twice in the second set, at 5-4 and 6-5, and was two points away in the tie-break.

This triumph is Navarro’s first title since last March, when she won another WTA 500 event on hard courts in Merida, Mexico. After the final she thanked her support group for staying the course through a difficult stretch.

“They’ve been with me through thick and thin. It’s been a little bit of a rocky year and a half or so, but I think we’ve put in a lot of really good work, and thank you guys for sticking by me and being incredibly dedicated. You make it fun and worth it. Every day’s a journey and we’re always getting a little bit better.”

The Strasbourg victory restores momentum for the former world No. 8 and gives her clear momentum as the clay season continues.