‘Eala-mania’ takes over US Open

“Eala-mania” has officially reached the US Open.

Tournament director Eric Butorac has seen firsthand the growing popularity of Filipino tennis star Alex Eala in New York after the 21-year-old drew a massive crowd during the “Stars of the Open” exhibition at the historic Arthur Ashe Stadium last Friday (Manila time).

With Eala set to compete at the 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium inside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Butorac expects another passionate reception from Filipino fans.

“We were fortunate to have her in the mix. We saw some of it, that crowd turned up there, what she did in Stars of the Open,” Butorac said.

“We changed the format of Stars of the Open during Fan Week to highlight the eight kind of young stars and having her play against Iva Jovic. I don't know if you guys caught any of that match, but it was electric in there.”

Eala was given an opportunity to connect with her supporters during Stars of the Open, where she also played doubles alongside her father, Mike, against world No. 14 Iva Jovic and her father, Bojan.

The Filipina fell to Jovic, 3-6, in their one-set friendly duel, but the result hardly mattered as thousands of Filipino fans packed Arthur Ashe Stadium to cheer for Eala.

The overwhelming reception gave US Open officials a glimpse of the support Eala could command during the tournament and why her campaign could become one of its biggest crowd stories.

With a large Filipino community in New York and supporters increasingly rallying behind Eala on the professional tour, the US Open is bracing for another raucous reception when the Filipina takes the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium.