“Don’t Make This Mistake!” — US Open Faces Emotional Warning Over Alex Eala Ahead of the 2026 Tournament, as Filipino Fans Fear a Heartbreaking Decision
US Open organisers have been warned by doubles Grand Slam champion Patrick McEnroe to make correct decisions regarding Alex Eala ahead of the September tournament.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a breakout year on the WTA Tour, winning her first singles title in DC last month, a WTA 500 event, at the Washington Open versus Jessica Pegula.
In the following two WTA 1000 tournaments, first Toronto then Cincinnati, Eala crashed out in the Round of 16 and 32 respectively.
Her US Open Mixed Doubles partnership with Canadian talent Felix Auger-Aliassime was also short-lived, losing two-sets-to-one against Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina on Tuesday.
Now, the Filipina athlete will look ahead to the US Open Singles tournament, hoping to claim her first Grand Slam victory at the near conclusion of a breakout season.
As a result, former doubles Slam champion McEnroe, who also reached the 1995 US Open’s quarter-finals, his best Singles result at Slam-level, has made a plea to the event’s organisers.
Eala stands tall as one of, if not the hottest property in women’s tennis currently, attracting a plethora of financially lucrative sponsorship offers, and drawing out fans to stadiums across the globe.
“The USTA better make sure they put her on the big courts” says McEnroe
Speaking to ESPN, the American said: “The USTA better make sure they put her on big courts. In New York, I think the crowd is going to be wild for her.”
It’s going to be a great story,” he continued. “Better make sure they don’t put her on one of those side courts early in the tournament.”
Eala is, in the estimation of former #1 Lindsay Davenport, “the most famous female from the Philippines” and must be put on bigger show courts.
The former American professional delivered that verdict after Eala was put on Court Six in her opening round match at the Australian Open, to begin the season.
Davenport partially based that opinion off of the difficulties she encountered attempting to watch the match on Court Six, which was surrounded by a larger volume of fans than it could handle.
Eala faced off and won against Davenport’s fellow countrywoman Alycia Parks, who the former #1 wanted to see in action, but was unable to.
“I just wanted to go see Alycia Parks play,” confessed Davenport. “You weren’t getting anywhere near that court.
“There were so many fans who were just waiting to get [into Court Six]. She’s certainly one of the most famous people to ever come through the sporting world of [the Philippines].”
Martina Navratilova was equally insistent during the Australian Open about organisers putting Eala on larger courts, reminding those with authority of Melbourne’s “massive Filipino audience.”
That sentiment equally applies to the American hardcourt season in New York, with a huge Filipino audience right on its doorstep in Queens, nicknamed ‘Little Manila.’
Eala’s career trajectory appears certain to reach Slam-winning heights, but whether the 2026 US Open is too soon remains to be seen.
The Filipina athlete boasts a strong record against Top 10 opponents in 2026 — she can seemingly beat nearly anyone at her best — and former World #1 Greg Rusedski magnified a facet of Eala’s game earlier this week that ‘nobody else does’ that could see her make the Slam-winning leap.
If she is victorious in the States, the 21-year-old would be second only to Emma Raducanu, who won in 2021 as a qualifier, for underdog victories this decade at the Grand Slam.
