By Samantha Yu
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala may have ended her US Open exhibition appearance on the losing side, but the Filipina star has bigger business ahead.
Eala fell 6-3 to American teenager Iva Jovic in the one-set “Stars of the Open” exhibition at Flushing Meadows on Thursday, Friday morning in Manila, in a friendly but competitive tune-up ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam.
The match allowed the two young stars to sharpen their games in front of the US Open crowd, with Eala, 21, displaying her trademark fighting spirit and engaging Jovic in several intense baseline exchanges.
Jovic, who is only 18, however, made the most of her opportunities on break points and pulled away when it mattered to secure the single-set victory.
Despite the result, the exhibition was hardly unfamiliar territory for the two players.
Eala and Jovic have developed a close friendship after previously teaming up in doubles, including a semifinal run at the ASB Classic in Auckland earlier this year.
Their relationship has also taken on a competitive edge in singles, where Jovic owns a 2-0 record against the Filipina, including wins at the French Open and Queen’s Club Championships.
But this time, the stakes were deliberately low.
For Eala, the real test begins when she steps onto the court for her US Open singles campaign.
From Wimbledon breakthrough to New York
The 21-year-old Filipina enters Flushing Meadows after one of the biggest stretches of her young career.
Eala climbed to a career-high No. 18 in the world, breaking into the Top 20 for the first time, while her historic run at Wimbledon saw her reach the Round of 16.
Those achievements have transformed Eala from a promising young player into one of the names increasingly attracting attention on the Grand Slam stage.
Now, New York presents another opportunity.
Eala enters the US Open as the No. 17 seed, the highest Grand Slam seeding of her career, and will face a qualifier in the opening round.
That means the exhibition against Jovic was less about the scoreboard and more about getting accustomed to the surroundings, conditions and intensity of playing at Flushing Meadows.
The next challenge
Eala’s immediate goal is simple: get through the opening round and build momentum.
A deep run in New York could further boost her ranking and strengthen her position among the world’s elite. More importantly, it would give the Filipina another chance to demonstrate that her Wimbledon breakthrough was only the beginning.
She has already shown that she can compete with—and beat—some of the biggest names in women’s tennis.
The next step is consistency.
And with the US Open main draw about to begin, Eala no longer needs to introduce herself to the tennis world.
She simply needs to keep winning.
For Filipino fans, the journey continues in New York. ia/
