By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala is ready to take the US Open by storm as the No. 17 seed – her highest-ever Grand Slam seeding – clashes with a qualifier at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Eala’s historic seeding, surpassing her previous No. 25 at Wimbledon, places her in the bottom half of the draw that is loaded with elite opponents that include last year’s finalist and 10th seed Amanda Anisimova.
A first-round victory would arrange the 21-year-old Filipina star a duel with the winner between Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine and wildcard Reese Brantmeier of the United States.
Eala, now ranked No. 18 in the world, recently faced Oliynykova at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg, France last May, falling to the Ukrainian in a three-set battle in the opening round.
The Filipina, however, has never faced Brantmeier on the WTA tour although the American is regarded as a promising player having won an NCAA singles title last year.
Other notable potential opponents for Eala are good friend and 14th seed Iva Jovic, two-time Grand Slam doubles quarterfinalist Anastasia Potapova, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and 19-year-old reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva.
Of course, no path is easy at any Grand Slam event, but Eala is expected to go all out to eclipse her best Grand Slam showing of a fourth-round finish at the Wimbledon a few months ago.
Eala is carrying the momentum of an impressive North American swing campaign where she captured her breakthrough WTA title at the Mubadala DC Open, slaying giants like Zheng Qinwen, last year’s champion Leylah Fernandez, second seed Elina Svitolina, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula.
She is also coming off a mixed doubles stint with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, where they lost to lovely couple Gael Monfils and Svitolina.
