MANILA — Riding the momentum of the finest season of her professional career, Filipina tennis ace Alexandra Eala has officially secured a spot in the 2026 US Open main draw, setting the stage for another showdown against the world’s biggest stars in the year’s final Grand Slam.
The tournament, scheduled from Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 in New York, will mark Eala’s second consecutive appearance in the US Open main draw after her breakthrough debut last year, when she captured her first-ever Grand Slam main draw victory by defeating Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
The 21-year-old Filipina will once again compete alongside the sport’s elite, including reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, and Mirra Andreeva.
Eala heads to Flushing Meadows in top form following a remarkable 2026 campaign that has seen her establish herself among the rising forces in women’s tennis.
During the grass-court season, she won the Birmingham Open title, reached the semifinals of the Berlin Tennis Open, and advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon, the deepest Grand Slam run of her career.
Before returning to New York, Eala will compete in three key North American hard-court tournaments—the DC Open, Canadian Open in Toronto, and the Cincinnati Open—to fine-tune her preparations for the US Open.
Earlier this year, she also reached the quarterfinals of both the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Abu Dhabi Open, while making the Round of 16 in the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open.
Although her campaigns at the Australian Open and the French Open ended in first-round exits, Eala continued her steady rise in the WTA rankings through a series of strong performances across the tour.
Now returning to the venue where she announced herself on the Grand Slam stage, Eala aims to build on last year’s breakthrough and mount another impressive run against the world’s top-ranked players./PN
