Eala officially gains US Open entry

MANILA, Philippines —  Alex Eala is all set for the season’s last Grand Slam.

The rising international tennis darling is officially listed in the US Open slated Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows, New York, alongside the top-ranked players Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Jannik Sinner of Italy.

Eala is ranked No. 29 in the confirmed list for direct entries released by the US Tennis Association yesterday albeit the seedings and the draw will be available in the Slam week.

At stake for Eala is the continuation of her magical run in Wimbledon, where she netted a bevy of firsts for Philippine tennis with her Round of 16 finish.

Eala was the first Filipina player to do it so, gaining 240 points to reach a new career-best WTA ranking of No. 28.

Though Eala slipped a bit in the rankings at No. 29 this week due to inactivity after coming home in the Philippines with a series of fan meeting events, she will ride a massive momentum entering the US Open with a goal of surpassing her second-round finish last year.

Eala then stunned world No. 15 Clara Tauson of Denmark in the US Open Round of 128 to become the first Filipina match-winner at any Grand Slam main draw prior to her Wimbledon breakthrough.

“I do want to get as far as I possibly can. Of course, the ultimate goal is to win right? But I will take it round by round,” said Eala in an interview with The STAR upon her homecoming last week