US OPEN

September 1, 2026

Alexandra Eala

Press Conference

A. EALA/M. Stoiana

6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Alex, congratulations. If you would, discuss your level of play tonight.

ALEXANDRA EALA: I'm very happy with the level I produced today. It's always -- it's never easy, especially in the first round of a tournament, of US Open nonetheless, and I think Mary has been having some good weeks. So, yeah, super happy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Alex, your serve looked good out there. It looked faster than it's been in a while, at least from my perspective. Could you talk about how you've been practicing that and if that's what you felt out there with your serve?

ALEXANDRA EALA: I think I served pretty well. I'll have to take a bit more time to process the match, but yeah, like I said, or like I've been saying, the serve is just a constant effort and constant -- you know, it's constant work and trying to improve. I'm always trying to improve something.

I'm happy with how I served today. Hopefully we're going up, we're maintaining the level in the next couple of matches, yeah.

Q. Thinking back to here last year in the first round when you were on Grandstand against a seeded player, and then to this year where you are on Louis Armstrong as the seeded player, how different did it feel?

ALEXANDRA EALA: It felt different definitely, but not to say that one was more challenging than the other. It's just different circumstances. It was my first time playing on, you know, one of the main stadiums here in US Open.

It was very loud (laughing), and especially when the roof is covered. So that's something that adds to the atmosphere, but it's also something you have to navigate.

Yeah, of course, coming in as a seeded player and having done pretty good, I would say, the past, you know, this swing, American swing, it brings a different vibe. Of course, you are a little more confident. There's a little more expectations, but I think I handled it. I've been handling it well, yeah.

Q. Alex, you mentioned how loud it was. I'm curious, a lot of the players kind of discussing, oh, first round of slams bring a lot of nerves, there were a lot of extra eyeballs on you, the atmosphere was pretty intense, especially in the warm-up when they were introducing you. Does that bring extra nerves? Like you mentioned the vibe, what kind of vibe does that bring to you, especially when you are warming up trying to get into the start of the match and then proceeding on?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Well, there were nerves, for sure, and I am not really sure if I can pinpoint where they came from, if it's from the noise, if it's from, like you said, the first round of a slam.

But I think with experience, my goal is to tune it out, and I've had experience with big crowds, especially in the past year, and I think I've been navigating quite well within myself to keep the focus and focus on what I need to pay attention to and points A, B, and C.

In the end when you get into the groove, get into the rhythm, we play tennis. You know, a match is match, I think whether there are so many people or none. I think once the players get into that groove, the effect of external factors lessen a little bit.

Q. You mentioned your confidence level being pretty high. What are you expecting from yourself in this tournament coming off a successful Wimbledon?

ALEXANDRA EALA: What I want from this tournament, I think I've prepared quite well leading up to it. My team has put in the work. I've put in the work. So to have more matches with the level that I see I can produce and I've been producing these past couple of weeks.

I think today was a good first match. I was able to execute a lot of the points, be aggressive, play my game. So, you know, continue in that trajectory.

Q. Up next for you in round two is someone you played before earlier in the year, Oleksandra Oliynykova. It was a pretty tight match in Strasbourg. Can you speak about thinking back to that match and facing her coming up soon?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yes, it was a really good match. I mean, very intense, quite tight. I think looking back at that match, there are a lot of things that I could have done better, and I think I've been working on since then. It's been a couple of months. I think I've developed a lot in said months.

So, yeah, all I can do is come into that match with the same mindset as today, the same mindset or even better than the mindset I've been having these past couple of weeks and try to do my best.

Q. Even though you are that young, it seems like you are very, you know, aware of being role model of young girls and being a pioneer of Filipino tennis. The speech you made in Wimbledon was just amazing and really inspiring. I was wondering, where that kind of maturity and intelligence come from?

ALEXANDRA EALA: I don't know. I don't know (smiling). I think being a professional tennis player and being in this, one, a very professional environment, two, a very competitive environment and being surrounded by so many amazing, intelligent, and charismatic women and people, I guess I've just learned to -- I've learned things from my surroundings. I've absorbed knowledge.

I'm constantly trying to be a better person, a more intelligent, more aware person and, yeah, to just be the best version of myself. I don't think my tennis would be as good as it is now if I wasn't the person that I am off the court and I wasn't as open-minded or, you know, eager to learn. So I think those two go hand in hand.

Q. I wanted to ask you about something you answered in an interview with Sky Sports. I think it was the other day. It's a little bit under the radar, but some people caught it about your mindset. You were asked about, How do you see yourself ten years from now? For some players they'll say, I hope to have two, three, four Grand Slams. You said something different. You said, I just want to make sure that I gave it my best, worked hard, and had fun. That speaks a bit to mental wellness, because we've seen champions end up ending their careers with lots of titles, like Michael Phelps with all the gold medals, and yet, he ends up depressed. What are your thoughts on enjoying the journey versus championship or bust?

ALEXANDRA EALA: Yeah, I think, you know, like she said, I'm still so young, so I have so much to learn when it comes to managing.

There's so much I feel I'm going to experience and so many challenges I've yet to encounter, but right now I think with the success I've been having this past year and my improvement coming quite rapidly, I don't know, it feels like just yesterday that I was dreaming to be on Armstrong, for example, or dreaming to play against the players that I've been playing against.

Yeah, let's say, for example, in a match like this, in the morning I was nervous. It's the first round of a slam, and I'm coming in seeded. It's a little different, because I've been doing well recently.

But, yeah, I just think it would be such a shame if I didn't do my best to enjoy. There are so many people who are showing love for me and for all the other players. You know, I'm playing on Armstrong.

You know, there were times when you are dreaming and you're a little kid, you don't know if you're actually going to do it, right? Of course, you say, I can, I can, I can, but whether you actually do is a different thing, and now I'm here.

So it would be a big shame if I didn't enjoy what I had, yeah.