Eala exits doubles at the Mubadala DC Open
Alex Eala withdrew from the women's doubles draw at the Mubadala DC Open, ending a widely anticipated reunion with seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. Tournament organizers did not disclose a reason for Eala's departure, and the revised official doubles draw now places Williams alongside Diana Shnaider in place of the previously announced Eala–Williams pairing. The pair had reached the quarterfinals at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany last month, a result that had made their Washington reunion one of the tournament's most talked-about pairings.
Venus Williams addresses the change
Speaking at her pre-tournament press conference on 26 July, Williams said she and Eala had been "looking forward to playing again" after Bad Homburg but that "didn't work out this time," according to tennis journalist Christian Basnight. She left the door open for future pairings. Williams received singles and doubles wildcards into the WTA 500 event and opens her singles campaign against Anastasia Potapova, while her new doubles partnership with fourth-seeded Shnaider faces Quinn Gleason and Ulrikke Eikeri in the first round.
Eala's singles path in Washington
Eala remains in the singles draw, where her first-round opponent is 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist and former Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng. Zheng, now ranked World No. 123 after elbow surgery, entered on a wildcard. The two have met once before, with Zheng winning 6-1, 6(5)-7, 6-3 in the 2023 Asian Games semifinal. A potential second-round opponent for Eala is defending Washington champion Leylah Fernandez, with Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula also in the field. The 21-year-old Eala, currently World No. 29, has only 80 ranking points to defend across the US Open hard-court swing.
Cruz Hewitt nears an ATP main-draw debut
At the same Washington event, 17-year-old Cruz Hewitt advanced to the final round of qualifying at the ATP 500 DC Open after Dusan Lajovic retired trailing 5-2 in the opening set. The wildcard recipient, who reached the Wimbledon boys' final earlier this summer, will next face top qualifying seed Zachary Svajda, the World No. 73, for a place in the main draw. His father, former World No. 1 and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, watched from courtside and was approached by fans for photos after the match.
Hilado J60 World Tennis crowns Lee and Kukreti
At the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila, top-seeded Korean Yerin Lee and unseeded Indian Daksh Kukreti won their respective singles titles at the first leg of the Oscar J. Hilado J60 World Tennis Championship on 26 July. Lee, 14, defeated Australian Taylah Lessue 6-0, 6-0 for her first Philippine title, while Kukreti beat second-seeded Ryu Kotikula of Thailand 7-5, 6-1 after earlier ousting top-seeded Dharma Pantaratorn and seventh-seeded Ribhav Saroha. In doubles, Filipino pair Stefi Marithe Aludo and Louraine Jallorina reached the girls' final, and locals John Kendrick Bona and Stephen Yu Fuertes advanced to the boys' final against Chinese Taipei's Weibo Huang and Bing-Huan Tsai. The second leg opens with qualifying on Monday.
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