Alex Eala begins her quest for Grand Slam glory at the 2026 US Open on Monday (Manila time) when the 17th-seeded Filipina star faces American qualifier Mary Stoiana in the first round.
Eala returns to familiar territory at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, where she earned her first Grand Slam main-draw victory in 2025 by defeating 15th seed Clara Tauson in three sets.
It was also at the same venue where Eala captured the 2022 US Open girls’ singles title.
Stoiana, meanwhile, will make her first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw at age 23. She failed to advance through qualifying at the other three Grand Slam tournaments this year.
The American earned her spot in the US Open main draw with victories over world No. 215 Harmony Tan of France, No. 206 Katie Swan of Great Britain, and No. 138 Yue Yuan of China.
Stoiana was a standout for the Texas A&M Aggies women’s tennis team. She led the squad to the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship while earning ITA National Player of the Year honors.
She then became the first Texas A&M player to reach the No. 1 ranking nationally and was also named the NCAA tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Stoiana’s biggest title on the professional circuit came at the 2024 Edmond Open, an ITF W75 tournament in Oklahoma.
Eala and Stoiana have met once before, with the Filipina coming out on top in their second-round clash at the ITF W100 Koser Jewelers Tennis Challenge in Landisville, Pennsylvania, in August 2024.
Then ranked No. 147 in the world, Eala defeated the No. 496-ranked Stoiana, 7-5, 6-2.
A victory on Monday would send Eala into a second-round matchup against either Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova or American wild card Reese Brantmeier.
Eala will be wary of Oliynykova, who defeated her in the first round of the WTA 500 Internationaux de Strasbourg in France last May.
Brantmeier, 21, meanwhile, was the NCAA women’s singles champion in 2025.
