Alex Eala did not need much time to give the Filipino crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium what it came for.
Jordan Clarkson did not need many words to celebrate it.
“Alex Eala! Let’s goooooooo,” the New York Knicks guard wrote on X after Eala rolled past American qualifier Mary Stoiana, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday night.
The message was brief, but the timing made it meaningful.
Only days earlier, Clarkson and Eala had met at Flushing Meadows and bonded over what it means to carry Filipino pride onto an international stage. Clarkson told Eala that athletes with Filipino roots do not compete alone.
“When you got Filipino blood, you take the whole country with you,” Clarkson said during their meeting.
On Tuesday, Eala brought plenty of that country with her.
Alex Eala Rolls in U.S. Open Opener
The No. 17 seed overwhelmed Stoiana from the start, racing to a 5-0 lead in the opening set before closing out a dominant straight-sets victory.
Eala saved all six break points she faced and won the final five games of the match, advancing to a second-round meeting with Oleksandra Oliynykova.
The atmosphere again looked and sounded unmistakably Filipino.
Philippine flags filled sections of Louis Armstrong Stadium, continuing a pattern that has followed Eala throughout her rapid climb. The official U.S. Open site described her as a “fan favorite,” while tournament coverage has increasingly treated her matches as events rather than ordinary early-round assignments.
Afterward, Eala thanked the supporters who have followed her around the world.
“The support I’ve been getting the past couple of days here in New York and, honestly, and to be frank, everywhere around the world, thank you very much, fellow Filipinos,” she said.
Jordan Clarkson Has Been Watching Eala’s Rise
Clarkson’s reaction did not come from a distance.
The Knicks guard met Eala during U.S. Open Fan Week, where the two talked at length about their shared heritage and the responsibility that comes with representing the Philippines.
Eala told Clarkson that the Philippines remains “basketball crazy.”
“You’re leading the way in tennis,” Clarkson responded.
He later told her, “I’m proud of you,” prompting a smiling Eala to tell him not to make her blush. Clarkson then posted a photo of the pair with another message: “Keep being special twin, good luck! Kill it!”
Clarkson knows that kind of attention himself.
The Filipino-American guard has represented the Philippines internationally, including at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and now plays in New York after winning an NBA championship with the Knicks.
Eala is creating a parallel moment in another sport.
Her victory over Stoiana was the latest step in a season that already included a fourth-round run at Wimbledon and her first WTA title in Washington.
Clarkson’s post said only a handful of words.
For Eala and the Filipino fans filling New York this week, the message did not need to be any longer.
Alex Eala Gets Message From NBA Champion After US Open Win Over Mary Stoiana