Alex Eala focuses on playing amid questions over ‘Armstrong treatment’

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, competes against Oleksandra Oliynykova, of Ukraine, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

It doesn’t seem like Alex Eala is bothered by the attention her rapidly rising popularity has brought and, along with it, the discussions about her. She’s locked in on making a deep run in this year’s US Open.

Although sometimes, life sends her a few reminders.

“Sometimes I forget I’m also kind of famous,” Eala told reporters Friday (Manila time), sounding a little sheepish as she recounted her experience meeting internet personality Nella Rose, who admitted she was a fan of Eala, too.

“It’s weird to think that some people I watch a lot know me, too,” she added.

Some reminders are a bit on the serious side.

There has been a lot of talk about a supposed preferential treatment handed to her by US Open organizers, who have assigned her to Louis Armstrong Stadium twice in two matches already, the second on Friday (Manila time), when she turned back Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4.

The Armstrong venue is the second-biggest in the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center, which is located a short train ride from a Queens neighborhood in New York that is home to a strong Filipino presence. Only center court, Arthur Ashe Stadium, is bigger.

And as Eala marches on to her first weekend appearance at the year’s final Grand Slam, it is unlikely she’ll be slid down to the lower courts, given the huge demand for tickets to her matches and the way tournament organizers have dealt with the sudden disruption to the tennis economy brought about by the Filipino star’s popularity.

She was asked about that after the match, particularly because several Grand Slam winners have been playing on smaller courts in the first week of the tournament.

Eala refused to be drawn into the conversation, expressing only that she doesn’t take the experience for granted.

“I don’t make the schedules, but I’m grateful to be on Armstrong and to play on such an incredible court,” she said. “I don’t control the scheduling and my job is to be prepared for whatever court they put me in and whomever I’m against.”

Eala’s next opponent will be Iva Jovic, a close friend and part of their tennis clique of young women’s Tour standouts who love hanging out together.

“Off the court or on the court, I think the friends that I have, I really admire for what they’ve been through and what they go through,” Eala said.

Eala and her fans are headed to the weekend along with two-time champion Naomi Osaka and 2023 winner Coco Gauff.

“It means a lot for me to get to the weekend and this is my first time being in the third round here at the US Open,” the 21-year-old world No. 18 said.

Madison Keys also made it to the weekend—just barely.

Osaka recovered after a mid-match lapse to advance to the third round with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Katerina Siniakova.

Eala, the No. 17 seed, gave her passionate backers reason to cheer immediately by winning the first nine points against her Ukrainian opponent, who had won their only previous meeting.

“I think everybody represents something in their own way; I’m Filipino and I proudly represent that,” Eala said. “And a lot of the crowd here today is Filipino and I’m sure they share in that sentiment.”

Keys, the 2017 runner-up, was also on the verge of an early exit before erasing five match points and edging Anna Bondar 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (10-5).

“That was something, huh? No stress, though, we all knew I had it right?” Keys joked to the fans afterward.

Gauff, who won her first major title at Flushing Meadows three years ago, moved on by beating Paula Badosa 6-4, 7-6 (5) under the lights on Ashe in just under two hours. Badosa was playing for a third consecutive day, forced to finish her first-round match Wednesday after play was suspended Tuesday because of rain that hampered the tournament for multiple days. —WITH REPORTS FROM AP