Alex Eala needs to make everything worth it. The rising Filipina star has a massive following, and that isn't going to stop anytime soon. Her fans will buy tickets to see her anywhere, but getting to New York to see her perform at the US Open is even better.
Her run at the event began on Tuesday against completely overmatched Mary Stoiana. That actually says more about Eala's progression as a player than about Stoiana. In 2025, the Filipina might have been the overmatched player. She has come a long way, including winning her first WTA tournament above a WTA 125 over the summer.
In a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Stoiana, Eala had no aces and three double faults, but she did win 78 percent of her first serves. She hit 12 winners against 15 unforced errors, while Stoiana hit 18 and 26, respectively. There was no drama to the outcome of the match beginning at the very start of it, but Eala does need to play better moving forward.
Alex Eala wins her first-round match at the 2026 US Open easily
The score clearly suggested an easy match for the WTA No. 18, and it was. Still, she also needs to perform better beginning in the second round when she takes on No. 44 Oleksandra Oliynykova, though Eala should be the heavy favorite entering the match. If the score ends up being 6-1, 6-2 in favor of the Filipina, that would indicate she played a lot better than in the first round.
In the third round, she may face Iva Jovic, a young American with the kind of easy power that could disrupt what Eala hopes to do. Jovic's first-round match is one of those that has been affected by the weather and hasn't been finished yet. That said, Jovic's first two matches should be fairly straightforward.
After Jovic, Eala could face Coco Gauff in the round of 16. That could be where the Filipina's run stops, but she defeated the American earlier in 2026 and will have confidence that she can do so again. One thing that Alexandra Eala doesn't lack is confidence, and that is important.
Even if Eala loses in the fourth round to Gauff (and the Filipina could win that match), she will still have achieved a career first. Her best showing at the US Open so far is reaching the second round, which came in 2025. She would be gaining ranking points by getting past that round this year, helping set up 2027 for a huge rise in the WTA rankings.
Add us as a preferred source on Google