Some fans of Filipino star Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala had to get tickets resold at nearly US$400 to watch the opening round of the 2026 United States Open and they weren’t disappointed as the country’s pride simply out matched her American rival Mary Stoiana to advance to the tournament’s second round.
Backed by a loud and passionate Filipino crowd at Flushing Meadows, the 17th seed Eala needed only an hour and 18 minutes to beat her American opponent, 6-1, 6-2.
Eala quickly seized control of the match, feeding off the support from the stands as her supporters rallied her. Cheers echoed around the 14,000-capacity Louis Armstrong Stadium as she dictated the pace and kept her foe under pressure.
It was only in the second set that Stoiana showed more resistance, attempting to disrupt Eala’s rhythm, but the 21-year-old Filipina remained composed and eventually closed out the match in straight sets.
The victory sends Eala into the Round of 64 and adds another chapter to her remarkable rise on the international tennis stage.
The US Open has been a special venue for Eala. She won the girls’ singles championship in New York in 2022 and returned three years later to become the first Filipino player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam main-draw singles match.
With Stoiana out of the picture, Eala now aims to extend her latest Flushing Meadows run against dangerous Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine in the second round.
A three-time Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 titlist and ranked number 44 in the world (as of August 3, 2026), Oliynykova advanced after defeating American wild card Reese Brantmeier, 6-4, 6-4.
The second-round clash also presents Eala with an opportunity for redemption as she was defeated by the Ukrainian in their previous meeting at the Internationaux de Strasbourg last May, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
But with Filipino supporters expected to once again rally behind her, the highest ranked Filipina netter returns to the hardcourt carrying not only the hopes of Philippine tennis fans back home but also the energy of a growing Filipino community in New York.