Rising Filipina tennis star Alexandra Eala will team up with seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams in a headline-grabbing doubles partnership at the 2026 Mubadala DC Open, organizers announced, as the tournament nears a sellout.
Eala, one of the Philippines’ brightest young prospects, continues her steady climb on the international stage with the high-profile pairing. The 20-year-old left-hander and Williams first joined forces last month in Bad Homburg, where they advanced to the quarterfinals, signaling early promise for the intergenerational duo.
The Washington tournament, one of the premier stops on the summer hard-court swing, is already 99% sold out, with fewer than 1,000 tickets remaining for the weeklong event at Rock Creek Park.
Eala’s inclusion in a star-studded doubles field underscores her growing presence on both the WTA and global tennis scene. She will share the court with Williams, a 14-time Grand Slam doubles champion who, alongside sister Serena Williams, dominated the sport for more than a decade and captured three Olympic gold medals.
The Filipina standout is expected to draw strong support from the Filipino American community in the Washington, D.C., area, where diaspora fans have increasingly followed her career as she transitions from junior success to the professional ranks.
The women’s doubles draw also features several Grand Slam champions, including top-seeded pair Sara Errani of Italy and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez. Other notable entries include U.S. Open doubles champion Erin Routliffe, teaming with Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi, and defending DC doubles champion Shuai Zhang.
On the men’s side, American Frances Tiafoe will partner with Nick Kyrgios in one of the most anticipated pairings of the tournament. Rising American Ben Shelton will team up with Ecuador’s Diego Hidalgo, while defending champions Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori return as top seeds.
Tournament organizers said the 2026 doubles field includes 18 Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles champions across the ATP and WTA tours, along with several top-10-ranked players.
The event will also bring back its fan-favorite “mic’d up” feature, allowing select doubles players to wear microphones during matches, giving spectators insight into on-court strategy and player interactions.
With limited tickets remaining, organizers have released a small number of outer court passes for the tournament’s opening days. These passes provide access to the Grandstand and practice courts, where fans often get closer to players.
For Filipino American fans, however, much of the attention will center on Eala, whose partnership with Williams represents another milestone in her young but fast-rising career.
