Alex Eala will make her 2026 US Open singles debut under New York’s bright lights Tuesday, on a stage large enough to accommodate the phenomenon surrounding her.
The 17th-seeded Filipina will face American qualifier Mary Stoiana in the second match of the Louis Armstrong Stadium night session at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo and Gael Monfils open the session at 7 p.m. ET. Eala and Stoiana will play after their best-of-five-set match ends.
That makes approximately 8:40 p.m. ET a reasonable estimate for Eala’s entrance, although the match could begin considerably earlier or later. For viewers in the Philippines, the projected start is around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2.
The official US Open order of play does not assign Eala a fixed time beyond placing her second in the Louis Armstrong night session.
The 14,000-seat stadium is the tournament’s second-largest venue, behind the 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium. For a player whose practices have become events of their own, the placement feels less like a courtesy than crowd control.
Alex Eala’s Tuesday US Open Schedule
| Court | Start/order | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur Ashe Stadium | 11:30 a.m. | No. 22 Madison Keys vs. Alina Korneeva |
| Arthur Ashe Stadium | Following | No. 9 Taylor Fritz vs. Darwin Blanch |
| Arthur Ashe Stadium | 7 p.m. | Zeynep Sonmez vs. No. 4 Coco Gauff |
| Arthur Ashe Stadium | Following | No. 1 Alexander Zverev vs. Lorenzo Sonego |
| Louis Armstrong Stadium | 11 a.m. | Francisco Comesana vs. No. 5 Flavio Cobolli |
| Louis Armstrong Stadium | Following | No. 5 Mirra Andreeva vs. Janice Tjen |
| Louis Armstrong Stadium | 7 p.m. | Adolfo Daniel Vallejo vs. Gael Monfils |
| Louis Armstrong Stadium | Following | Mary Stoiana vs. No. 17 Alex Eala |
Eala enters the season’s final Grand Slam at a career-high world No. 18 after winning her first WTA Tour singles title in Washington. Her run included victories over Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula.
Stoiana, ranked No. 122, won three qualifying matches to earn her main-draw place. The former collegiate No. 1 defeated Yuan Yue 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the final qualifying round.
The two have met once. Eala defeated Stoiana 7-5, 6-2 at the 2024 ITF Landisville tournament, although both players have made considerable progress since then.
Alex Eala’s Star Power Takes Over Fan Week
Eala’s court assignment answers a request Patrick McEnroe made before the order of play was released.
“The USTA better make sure they put her on big courts,” the ESPN analyst said during the network’s US Open preview conference call.
McEnroe warned organizers against placing Eala on a side court and predicted New York’s crowd would be “wild for her.”
Mary Joe Fernandez supplied the evidence. The former world No. 4 described Eala’s following as “off the charts,” noting that fans increasingly arrive not only for her matches but also for her practices.
The forecast held throughout Fan Week.
Spectators crowded the viewing areas around Eala’s practices. She then faced close friend Iva Jovic in the ticketed Stars of the Open exhibition inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the atmosphere was electric, with a packed crowd filled with Philippine flags.
Jovic won the one-set exhibition 6-3, but the score became secondary when Eala and Jovic invited their fathers onto the court for a playful doubles segment. The family moment brought another ovation from the crowd.
Eala’s appeal in New York was already established. More than 8,000 spectators packed Grandstand last year to watch her rally from 5-1 down in the third set and defeat Clara Tauson, becoming the first Filipino in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles main-draw match.
One year later, her audience—and her profile—has grown substantially.
Major Media Outlets Spotlight Eala’s Rise
Eala’s transformation from rising prospect to international star was reflected in the coverage surrounding her arrival in New York.
She appeared on the Forbes Daily Cover, which examined her growing fame and commercial potential.
Sports Illustrated placed Eala on its digital cover beneath the headline “Pinoy Power,” describing her as “tennis’s next great superstar.”
The New Yorker explored how she became a symbol of the Philippines, connecting her rise with the cultural values and national pride surrounding her career.
ESPN has also placed Eala at the center of its US Open coverage. In “Inside the Raucous and Rapid Rise of Alex Eala,” the network examined the enormous crowds, expectations and cultural weight accompanying her breakthrough, describing her as part Manny Pacquiao and part Maria Sharapova—and a player capable of making a deep run in New York.
Few players without a Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance receive simultaneous spotlight treatment from Forbes, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker and ESPN.
Combined with her packed practices, Fan Week appearances and enormous digital following, the coverage illustrates how quickly Eala has moved beyond being merely a compelling tennis prospect. She has become one of the sport’s most marketable young stars.
Eala also participated in US Open Media Day, tournament promotional videos and interviews around the grounds. Her meeting with Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson produced another widely shared moment centered on their Filipino heritage.
Queens Offers Eala a Home Crowd
Eala could hardly have chosen a better New York borough for her rise.
Approximately 94,000 Filipinos lived in New York City as of 2023, according to an Asian American Federation demographic study. Queens was home to about 49,500 of them, more than any other borough.
Woodside’s Little Manila sits several miles west of the National Tennis Center. The Filipino commercial and cultural enclave stretches along Roosevelt Avenue, centered near 69th and 70th streets, with restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, remittance centers and other Filipino-owned businesses.
A New York City neighborhood study estimated that Filipinos represent approximately 16% of Woodside’s population. The city formally recognized the community in 2022 by co-naming the intersection of 70th Street and Roosevelt Avenue “Little Manila Avenue.”
Those figures do not account for supporters traveling from New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania or the Philippines itself. Eala’s New York audience is local, regional and global at once.
Coco Gauff, Alexander Zverev Headline Arthur Ashe
World No. 4 Coco Gauff receives Tuesday’s premier women’s assignment, opening the Arthur Ashe night session against Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez at 7 p.m.
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev follows Gauff against Italian veteran Lorenzo Sonego.
The Arthur Ashe day session begins with Madison Keys against Alina Korneeva. Taylor Fritz then faces 18-year-old American wild card Darwin Blanch.
Louis Armstrong’s day schedule opens with fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli against Francisco Comesana. Fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva then meets Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen.
ESPN’s Tuesday coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET and continues through 6 p.m. “US Open Match Point” follows from 6 to 7 p.m., with primetime coverage beginning at 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN2. Every court will also stream through the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited subscribers.
Eala will not play inside the US Open’s largest stadium Tuesday. Gauff and Zverev own that distinction.
But with 14,000 seats, a roof to hold in the noise and one of the tournament’s most passionate fan bases preparing to fill them, Louis Armstrong may be exactly where the biggest party in Queens unfolds.
Alex Eala Lands Primetime US Open Match: When and How to Watch