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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Eala, seeded No. 17, takes on qualifier at US Open first round

Eala, seeded No. 17, takes on qualifier at US Open first round

Published Aug 28, 2026 10:31 am  |  Updated Aug 28, 2026 04:26 pm

At A Glance

  • Her historic seeding, surpassing her previous No. 29 mark at Wimbledon, places her in the bottom half of a loaded draw packed with dangerous elite opponents standing in her path that include last year's finalist and 10th seed Amanda Anisimova.
Philippines' Alexandra Eala celebrates a point against United States' Caty McNally during a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Philippines' Alexandra Eala celebrates a point against United States' Caty McNally during a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Alex Eala is ready to take the US Open by storm as the No. 17 seed -- her highest-ever Grand Slam seeding -- clashes with a qualifier at Flushing Meadows.
Her historic seeding, surpassing her previous No. 29 mark at Wimbledon, places her in the bottom half of a loaded draw packed with dangerous elite opponents standing in her path that include last year’s finalist and 10th seed Amanda Anisimova.
A first-round victory would arrange the 21-year-old Filipina star a duel with the winner between Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine and wildcard Reese Brantmeier of the United States.
Eala recently faced Oliynykova at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg, France last May, falling to the Ukrainian in a three-set battle in the opening round.
The Filipina, however, has never faced Brantmeier on the WTA tour.
Other notable potential opponents for Eala deeper in the draw are good friend and 14th seed Iva Jovic, two-time Grand Slam doubles quarterfinalist Anastasia Potapova, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and 19-year-old reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva.
Of course, no path is easy at any Grand Slam as Eala is expected to go all out to eclipse her best Grand Slam showing of a fourth-round finish at the Wimbledon a few months ago.
Eala is carrying the momentum of an impressive North American swing campaign where she captured her breakthrough WTA title at the Mubadala DC Open, slaying giants like Zheng Qinwen, last year's champion Leylah Fernandez, second seed Elina Svitolina, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula.
She is also coming off a mixed doubles stint with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, where they lost to spouses Gael Monfils and Svitolina.

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