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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Eala seeks repeat over American qualifier in US Open first round

Eala seeks repeat over American qualifier in US Open first round

Published Aug 29, 2026 01:11 pm

At A Glance

  • This marks the second time the 17th-seeded Filipina is battling the 23-year-old American following their first meeting in 2024 at an International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Landisville, Pennsylvania.
FILE PHOTO -- Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, returns the ball from Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, during a round of 16 match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE PHOTO -- Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, returns the ball from Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, during a round of 16 match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)
Alex Eala is scheduled to face a familiar rival in qualifier Mary Stoiana in the first round of the US Open in New York.
This marks the second time the 17th-seeded Filipina is battling the 23-year-old American following their first meeting in 2024 at an International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Landisville, Pennsylvania.
In that W100 event, Eala defeated Stoiana in the second round in straight sets.
On paper, Eala holds a big advantage against Stoiana. The Filipina enjoys a career-high ranking at No. 18 and is coming off a breakthrough WTA Tour title victory at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington DC a few weeks ago.
Eala is also on a mission of eclipsing her previous best Grand Slam finish of a fourth-round appearance at the Wimbledon a few months back.
A victory for Eala would arrange her a second-round meeting with the winner between Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine and wildcard Reese Brantmeier of the United States.
But Stoiana is no pushover, having steadily improved over the past months by propelling to a career-high No. 122 this week to No. 223 at the start of the year. Last year, she ranked as low as No. 378.
The American is also expected to make the most of her Grand Slam main-draw debut after falling short in the qualifying rounds of the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year.
She dug deep and beat Harmony Tan, 6-4, 6-3; Katie Swan, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3; and Yue Yuan, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, to reach the main draw.

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Alex Eala US Open WTA WTA Tour
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