The Grand Slams keep underestimating Alex Eala’s popularity.
Eala’s first-round 2026 U.S. Open match against American Mary Stoiana is scheduled for the Tuesday night session in Louis Armstrong Stadium—the second-largest at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, after Arthur Ashe Stadium. Within hours of the announcement, the get-in ticket price on resale markets soared from $180 to $464 before dropping back down to $353 as of 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the website TicketData.
Meanwhile, the cheapest tickets for Tuesday’s Ashe night session featuring Coco Gauff and Alexander Zverev are selling for just $78. The Ashe day session with Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys ended up at $72.
Eala, the 21-year-old from the Philippines ranked No. 18 in the world, is a rising star, knocking out the defending champion Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon in July and then winning the Mubadala DC Open in August. Filipino fans have enthusiastically shown up to support Eala everywhere she’s played over the past year, and the mania peaked this summer. DC Open chairman Mark Ein said more than 80% of inquiries received by the tournament’s ticketing team in the lead up to that event were asking when Eala would be playing.
