The pride of D.C. tennis in Frances Tiafoe and one of the greatest female athletes ever in Venus Williams are headliners once again this week at the DC Open.
“Every time I watched pro tennis, I remember sneaking in here,” Tiafoe, a Hyattsville native said. “It’s great to be here and great to be, quote-unquote, one of the marquee guys coming.”
The line-up for the combined ATP and WTA 500-level event at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park — main-draw matches begin Monday — also features a new name that has been drawing huge crowds.
Global sensation Alex Eala of the Philippines enters Washington after a stellar grass court season that elevated her to a career-high No. 29 world ranking with global fans gravitating to watch her rise.
“It’s definitely been a lot, but a lot of really eye-opening experiences back home. You know, it was just an experience that was more for tennis than me. I don’t get to go home a lot. I don’t go home very often, so every time I go home, it’s super meaningful.”
In her sports-crazy homeland, the 21-year-old’s popularity is equal to if not greater than compatriot sports legends like Manny Pacquiao — something she considers a privilege and not a burden.
“I’m very privileged to be able to carry my flag and to represent everything that comes with that,” she said. “I’m very grateful to everybody who comes out to see me. I think it’s great for them to also experience [it], because I know a lot of them have never been to tennis events. So I’m happy also to be able to, in one way or another, introduce a tennis event in their life. I think that it’s a beautiful thing.”
Eala’s matches, including Tuesday’s first-rounder against reigning Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng, will likely be some of the most attended of the week. And the influx of international media covering her is the most at the DC Open in years, owing to her popularity not just among Filipinos and Filipino-Americans but those across the Asian tennis diaspora.
“It’s never crossed my mind to ask, ‘oh, why [me]?’ I think it’s taken me by surprise a couple of times,” Eala said. “I think each time I have to realize what I carry when I’m out on court, who I represent.
“I do think that representation is a very powerful thing. It’s a very meaningful thing. I like to say that it’s very impactful when someone sees themselves in you. So I know that a lot of these people who come to see me, whether they’re Filipino or from wherever in the world, in one way or another, if they support me, they see a part of themselves in me.”
Eala was originally scheduled to play doubles with Williams as they did last month in Bad Homburg, Germany, but said Sunday that she wanted to ease back into the week, her first on-court action since a fourth-round run at Wimbledon.
“I have so much respect for Venus … 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,” Eala said of Williams, who will pair instead with Diana Shnaider of Russia. “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.”
Along with those two, the women’s draw is highlighted by top seed and 2019 Washington champion Jessica Pegula, the third-ranked player in the world. The American is followed by Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan and Shnaider in the draw, all earning first-round byes and not beginning their tournaments until Wednesday at the earliest. Canadian Leylah Fernandez is also back, with the seven-seed opening her DC Open title defense in Monday’s first match against Poland’s Magda Linette.
The biggest change to this year’s tournament comes on the ATP side, where the field has shrunk from 48 men down to 32, removing first-round byes and bringing it in line with other 500-level events globally. Leading it is defending champion and top seed Alex de Minaur, who’s at a career-high No. 5 in the world rankings.
“I think one of the things I learned from last year is the conditions are not particularly easy, right? The ball is flying a fair bit. It’s quite quick. It’s very — especially if you play during the day, it’s very rare to find some of your best tennis,” the Australian said.
“You’ve got to be okay knowing that it might not be your best stuff, but a lot will do being there mentally and competing every point and trying to find a way to do certain things the right way.”
Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz immediately follow de Minaur in seeding at Nos. 2 and 3, with Shelton using a wild card to get in. Shelton’s draw sets him up for a potential quarterfinal clash with Tiafoe, a six seed playing for the 10th time at his home tournament.
“I have more appreciation for it as I get older, because [of] seeing it develop, seeing the people get more and more excited to see me play and be here every year,” Tiafoe said. “Obviously this year I feel like I’ve been a lot more closed-off than I have in years before. It’s hard, because everyone wants to see me and do stuff and whatever, but I guess the only thing I’m focused on is trying to win matches out here and put on the best show I can.”
Tiafoe has reached the DC Open quarterfinals in each of the last four years, but hasn’t yet broken through to play in a final. He’s playing some of his best tennis in recent years, winning a total of 31 matches this season, including the fourth title of his career at the 500-level grass court event in Halle, Germany, last month.
“I was pretty fly-by-night last year. Kind of just doing what I felt like doing. I feel my routine is definitely helping me be locked in and show up every day and continue to try to give my best self each and every day,” said Tiafoe, who plays Monday night against Terence Atmane of France. “Just trying to be better each day. Just try to get a little better each day.”
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