Alex Eala has already dismissed the “special treatment” debate involving Iga Świątek, saying she does not control the schedule and will play wherever she is placed. She has also done plenty on court to justify the attention. After two straight-set wins on Louis Armstrong, Eala is moving to Arthur Ashe, while CNN analyst Candi Reid believes her rise is becoming impossible for the WTA to ignore.
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“She has now become a rock star. I’ve always said, for the past few years, Amanda, that Coco Gauff is the most important person in the WTA. She is the highest-paid sportswoman in the world right now, Coco Gauff. But Alex Eala is coming up fast. It’s unbelievable. I cannot tell you, unless you’ve been here, the craziness amongst Alex Eala and all her fans,” said Reid in a CNN interview.
“It is bananas, so much so that they’re having to put her on the big courts and knock the likes of Iga Świątek, a former champion here and a six-time major champion, onto Grandstand Court, which is the third-biggest court, because they’ve got to give Eala and her fans room to grow on.”
Eala will make her Arthur Ashe debut in the 7 p.m. prime-time slot against Iva Jovic. Coco Gauff gets the second match of the day on Ashe, while Amanda Anisimova and Iga Świątek have been assigned Louis Armstrong and Grandstand, respectively.
The attention is not coming out of nowhere. Eala finished 2025 ranked No. 50 but entered this US Open at No. 18. A year after earning her first Grand Slam win over Clara Tauson in New York, she is now headlining a night session on the sport’s biggest stage. She has backed that rise with dominant tennis so far, beating Mary Stoiana 6-1, 6-2 and Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4 without dropping a set.
Eala has made major strides in 2026, improving a vulnerable serve and finding ways to handle the different playing styles of Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, and Iga Świątek on grass. She carried that form onto hard courts, winning the Citi DC Open with victories over Leylah Fernandez, Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, and Jessica Pegula.
The Eala craze has been building all year. The Australian Open underestimated demand and ended up dealing with overcrowding around her match. Her drawing power has remained evident since, with Eala featuring on major show courts at Wimbledon, the Canadian Open, and Cincinnati.
The hype is already there. Now Eala has to back it up against the one opponent she has failed to solve this season, Iva Jovic.
Alexandra Eala to Face Iva Jovic in the Next Round of the US Open
Eala enters the Jovic clash with a clear problem: she has never beaten her.
Jovic won both of their meetings this year, at the French Open and Queen’s, with three of the four sets ending 6-2 in the American’s favor.
Still, Eala has shown she can adjust quickly. Oleksandra Oliynykova had beaten her in Strasbourg, but Eala turned that matchup around in New York by reading the Ukrainian’s moonballs early, taking the ball sooner, and refusing to let the change of pace disrupt her rhythm.
She has also handled the pressure well. Eala stayed composed when questioned about receiving bigger courts than Grand Slam champions, and she will need the same calm against a home favorite on Arthur Ashe. Jovic has the head-to-head edge, but Eala has already shown this year that past results do not always carry into the next meeting.