{"id":1031537,"date":"2026-08-29T19:22:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T19:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1031537\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T19:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T19:22:26","slug":"alex-eala-returns-to-us-open-with-a-roaring-fan-base-and-on-path-to-stardom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1031537\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Eala returns to US Open with a roaring fan base and on path to stardom"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 More than 8,000 fans packed the Grandstand at the U.S. Open last year to witness Alex Eala<\/a> rally from down 5-1 in the third set to upset 14th-ranked Clara Tauson. The crowd went crazy, waving Filipino flags to celebrate the comeback.<\/p>\n

Eala is now up to a career-best 18th in the world, and at just 21 appears to be on a trajectory to stardom that has outgrown all but the biggest venues at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowd is going to be wild for her,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Patrick McEnroe said. \u201cBetter make sure they don\u2019t put her on one of those side courts early in the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Alexandra<\/p>\n

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, enter the court ahead of a mixed doubles match at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura)<\/p>\n

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, enter the court ahead of a mixed doubles match at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura)<\/p>\n

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Eala is back in New York for the latest stop on the whirlwind tour that has her on a path to being one of the future faces of tennis. She is less than a month removed from winning in Washington for her first WTA title<\/a>, and her popularity is exploding<\/a> in the process.<\/p>\n

Back at a Grand Slam after reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon, she called herself \u201ca drop in the ocean\u201d while downplaying her impact on the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the forefront of everything is gratitude: I\u2019m very grateful for the support that my fans give me and that my supporters give me,\u201d Eala said Friday. \u201cEvery single WTA player and every single ATP player has contributed to the world of tennis and its history just by being here and by putting in the work every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of what grounded Eala, she believes, is partnering with Venus Williams in doubles a couple of times this summer. She has also studied tennis history along the way and realized how much work it takes to get to the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really keeps me humble,\u201d Eala said. \u201cIt keeps me motivated to work harder and stay among these incredible people.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Alexandra<\/p>\n

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, gestures to the crowd after losing to 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)<\/p>\n

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, gestures to the crowd after losing to 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)<\/p>\n

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One of those incredible people is third-ranked Jessica Pegula, who was up a set in the final in Washington. Eala came back to become the first player from the Philippines to win a singles title on the tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten to compete against the best of the best a lot more frequently,\u201d Eala said. \u201cI have experienced so much growth in the past year, and so many milestones in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eala practiced Saturday with former No. 1 player Naomi Osaka. Unsurprisingly, the pair drew an audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe brings such a amazing crowd, even for practice,\u201d Osaka said. \u201cI really like her. I think she\u2019s got a really solid head on her shoulders. She seems so grateful for everything. Obviously, she\u2019s a great player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Joe Fernandez, who once was ranked as high as fourth, called Eala \u201ca big star to highlight\u201d at the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer game\u2019s really good,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cShe backs it up. She\u2019s improved tremendously, I think, in the last 12 months when we saw her break through. She\u2019s getting better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Philippines'<\/p>\n

Philippines\u2019 Alexandra Eala hits a return to United States\u2019 Caty McNally during a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Chris Young\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Philippines\u2019 Alexandra Eala hits a return to United States\u2019 Caty McNally during a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Chris Young\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

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Fernandez, now an ESPN analyst, marvels at Eala\u2019s \u201coff the charts\u201d fan following that she saw firsthand last year in Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just gotten bigger and bigger everywhere she goes,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cEvery point is loud. Every point she wins, it feels like she\u2019s won more than a point. It\u2019s remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eala is scheduled to play her first-round match against American qualifier Mary Stoiana. She would need to win three in a row to potentially set up a showdown with fourth-seeded Coco Gauff, which would almost certainly put Eala on center stage at Arthur Ashe Stadium.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full tennis coverage here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 More than 8,000 fans packed the Grandstand at the U.S. Open last year to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1031538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[48],"tags":[19824,8346,2210,84,21487,359910,289967,6115,405,403,123158,24958,62,1464,62213,67,132,68,46604],"class_list":["post-1031537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-alex-eala","tag-clara-tauson","tag-coco-gauff","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-jessica-pegula","tag-mary-joe-fernandez","tag-mary-stoiana","tag-naomi-osaka","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-patrick-mcenroe","tag-philippines","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-u-s-open-tennis-championships","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-venus-williams"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117180428964800633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1031537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1031538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1031537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1031537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1031537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}