The US Press Finally Has Its Eyes on Alex Eala
Alex Eala made the front page of The New York Times on September 3. Print edition, for a 21-year-old tennis player from Quezon City who was three days into a US Open run that had already caught the attention of a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The moment the Philippines has been waiting for
Eala came into the 2026 US Open ranked No. 18 in the world and seeded 17th at Flushing Meadows. She opened with a 6-1, 6-2 dismantling of American qualifier Mary Stoiana at Louis Armstrong Stadium, a match that lasted 1 hour and 18 minutes. Ticket prices for that match reportedly doubled ahead of the first serve.
Brandon London, a broadcaster at New York Post Sports, singled her out immediately. “Forget the top ranked women’s names at the US Open for a second because there’s a 17th seed running through the draw like she’s got something to prove,” London said in a video commentary. He called her “the best story out at Flushing Meadows.”
She then beat Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova in the second round, 6-1, 6-4, and moved into the third round against No. 14 seed Iva Jovic. A win there could set up a potential round of 16 match against fourth-seeded Coco Gauff.
What the US press is actually saying
The Times piece focused on what Eala means to Filipinos, at home and in the diaspora concentrated in Queens, where the US Open is played. “Her success is giving the country, a large, dispersed archipelago of more than 7,000 islands in Southeast Asia, as well as its diaspora, a reason to unite,” the article noted.
Vogue ran an in-depth feature on Eala and the Filipino fans who have followed her from tournament to tournament. Sports Illustrated put her on its August 28 digital cover under the headline “Alexandra Eala is the pride of the Philippines and tennis’s next great superstar,” with the cover line “Pinoy Power.” ESPN contributor Aishwarya Kumar wrote a long-form piece on her journey from the Philippines to the WTA top 20. Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated also filed a feature on her rise. The New Yorker published a piece on how she became a symbol for the Philippines.
Forbes brought the commercial angle. Max Eisenbud, head of client representation at WME Sports and its IMG Tennis subsidiary, projected that Eala could become the second-highest-paid female athlete in the world by 2027, behind Coco Gauff.
The résumé behind the attention
Eala has spent years at the Rafael Nadal Academy. She turned professional in March 2020 and has a career record of 232-137. This season she beat former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka, won her first WTA title by defeating then No. 3 ranked Jessica Pegula in Washington, and broke into the WTA top 20. At Wimbledon earlier this year she reached the fourth round.
She played her first US Open main draw in 2025, reaching the second round and becoming the first Filipina to win a Grand Slam main-draw singles match. A year later she returned as a seeded player with a growing crowd following her every match, spelling out GO ALEX in the stands.
At her pre-tournament press conference, Eala was asked about the weight of representing a country. “I think everybody represents something in their own way. I’m Filipino and I proudly represent that and a lot of the crowd here today is Filipino,” she said.
After her second-round win, she told reporters: “At the forefront of everything is gratitude: I’m very grateful for the support that my fans give me.”
The Pacquiao comparison
Multiple Philippine sports writers have drawn the parallel to Manny Pacquiao. He was the last Filipino athlete to pull this kind of consistent international press. The sport is different. The feeling for people watching from home is probably the same.
Eala has not made that comparison publicly. The crowds at Louis Armstrong Stadium with Philippine flags do not need her to.
She is in the third round. The draw is still open.
