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Tennis
Alex Eala heads into the US Open in blistering form, but first-round opponent Mary Stoiana - a former college standout making her Grand Slam debut - will be determined to spring a surprise at Flushing Meadows.
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Alex Eala arrives at the 2026 US Open on a remarkable run, winning eight of her last ten matches across the North American hard-court swing. The 21-year-old from Quezon City claimed her maiden WTA Tour title at the WTA 500 event in Washington DC before pushing deep into the draws in Toronto and Cincinnati, reaching the fourth and third rounds respectively.
Now ranked world No. 18, Eala is seeded 17th at Flushing Meadows - a significant step up from last year's debut, when she bowed out in the second round. She is one of ten players making their Grand Slam main-draw debuts this fortnight, though she herself is no longer a newcomer.
Standing in her path in round one is Mary Stoiana, a 23-year-old from Southbury, Connecticut, who is very much one of those debutants. Stoiana picked up a racquet aged four under the guidance of her father, a coach and former college player, and went on to dominate at Texas A&M University, earning SEC Player of the Year honours in both 2023 and 2024.
She turned professional at ITF level in 2020 and qualified for her first WTA Tour main draw at the Charleston Open earlier this year. Currently ranked world No. 122, she holds three ITF titles from seven finals.
The pair have met once before - at the W100 ITF event in Landisville in August 2024 - and it was a comfortable afternoon for Eala, who prevailed 7-5, 6-2. Stoiana will need to find another level if she is to overturn that result on the sport's biggest stage.
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Copyright 2026 VIASPORT
Eva Hernández, Editor-in-Chief
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