US Open puts Eala on second biggest stadium as ticket prices soar
MANILA, Philippines — Welcome to the Alex Eala mania.
The Filipina tennis rockstar will not play in the US Open main draw until Wednesday, but the buzz and anticipation have already hit a new high with double the ticket prices for her match at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
No less than US Open tournament director Eric Butorac has felt the shockwaves from Manila, designating Eala at the second biggest stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, with a 14,000-seater capacity.
It’s only next to the 23,000-seater Arthur Ashe Stadium at the heart of Big Apple, where Eala, WTA No. 18, debuted and pulled a huge crowd last week for the Stars of the Open exhibition match against her good friend and World No. 14 Iva Jovic of USA.
“We knew it had to be on a major stadium,” said Butorac in an interview with Tennis Channel, bracing for a sea of Filipinos and international casuals for Eala’s Round 1 duel against WTA No. 122 Mary Stoiana, who is ironically a home bet from Connecticut and a US NCAA MVP from Texas A&M.
“We thought that's a great place to start but I've already kind of monitored some of the secondary pricing and that session is blowing up. It's just amazing to see. I can't wait to have her out there, late at night and see all the Filipino crowd behind her. It's gonna be really special.”
And that’s backed by data on the ground, more than just the millions of engagements online after Eala got featured on top US publications like Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Forbes and The New Yorker among the few.
According to TicketData Tracker founder Keith Slusser, the get-in price at the Louis Armstrong Stadium doubled from $200 to $400 after the US Open announced Eala’s Round 1 schedule and court designation on Sunday.
“Alex Eala fever is running hot in NYC,” posted Slusser on X, adding that no other venue in Flushing Meadows had an uptick of more than 25% compared to the 100% jump for Eala’s return after a second-round finish in her US Open debut last year.
The Louis Armstrong Stadium, where Eala is scheduled for the second match, stands next to the massive Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest tennis venue in the world that’s a huge possibility for her to play an official match down the road of the 128-woman tiff.
“We are fortunate to have her in the mix. We saw some of the crowd turned up there (at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Stars of the Open. I don't know if you guys caught any of that match but it was electric in there," added Butorac.
"She's so friendly to everyone behind the scenes. She wants to meet people, she wants to engage, she wants to do everything. I hope she doesn't lose that. It is so special," he added.
Butorac’s praises on Eala’s crowd pull echoed the previous statements of Mubadala Citi DC Open chairman Mark Ein and National Bank Open director Karl Hale after Eala packed the venues in Washington D.C. and Toronto, Canada.
Eala, only 21 years old, will march on to the city that never sleeps with the biggest seeding of her Grand Slam run and the Philippine tennis history at No. 17.
As one of the world tennis’ poster girls and undisputed Philippine sports flagbearer today, she is in for the biggest crowd of her blooming career yet as well.
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