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(SDN) September 2, 2026 — Filipino tennis sensation Alexander “Alex” M. Eala today, Wednesday (Tuesday, September 1, United States time) steamrolled past her qualifier opponent, American Mary Stoiana at the 2026 U.S. Open.
The score settled at 6-1, 6-2, in favor of the 21 years old Filipina racket wielder, whose sudden fame has “caught the world by a storm” says the New York Post.
Stoiana got into the tournament’s main draw as she made past the qualifying stage. She has 23 summers behind her. She played for Texas A&M Aggies — 2021-2025 – leading the team to their first national championship in 2024 (Wikipedia).
As usual in her every match this year, Eala’s enthusiastic and passionate Filipino fans and avid supporters invaded the 14,000 seats Louis Armstrong Stadium, one of the competition’s largest venuee, second only to the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Flushing Meadows, New York.
In her first appearance at the Grand Slam, the year’s last major, she also made it to the second round, but she did not make it to last year’s US Open, stopped by Clara Tauson (ESPN).
Hopefully, this time she’ll be able to make to the third round of the tournament.
Eala is presently ranked 18th in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) order of hierarchy, and a 17th seed at the tournament.
After the match, per ESPN, she thanked the New York community, where there are over 260,000 Filipinos in an interview posted on YouTube.
“I want to thank the community here in New York, the tennis fans not just from the Philippines, who have been making me feel so loved and who are so enthusiastic and contributing to the growth of women’s tennis.
“So, thank you everybody for being part of my journey and making it such a pleasure to do my job,” the Filipina sport sensation says.
Her opponent in the second round will be Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova, who beat Reese Brantmeier at 6-4, 6-4.
It would be a rubber match against the Ukrainian as she won over Eala in the clay-court of Strasbourg Open this year in May. Perhaps, the Filipinanwould be looking for a revenge to settle the score. — EKU / SDN (✓)