Eala Beats Stoiana at US Open

Alexandra Eala beat Mary Stoiana 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the 2026 US Open on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday night. The No. 17 seed, ranked around No. 18 on the WTA tour, needed about 65 minutes to put away the American qualifier and reach the second round for a second straight year.

Armstrong already had a packed night. Eala still made it feel like her house. She raced to 5-0 in the opening set, closed that frame, then finished the match by winning the last five games after Stoiana briefly led 2-1 in the second.

How Eala took control

Stoiana, a former Texas A&M star, finally got on the board in game six of the first set after Eala had built that 5-0 cushion, per GMA. Eala answered immediately and closed the set. The pattern held when the second set got noisy.

Per Outlook India, Eala saved two break points in her first service game, won 78 percent of her first-serve points, converted four of eight break chances, and saved all six break points she faced. Stoiana forced three deuces in the final service game of the second set before Eala closed it out, according to GMA Network.

Stoiana had survived three qualifying matches to reach the main draw. She even grabbed a 2-1 lead in set two with a run of forehand winners. That was the high-water mark. Eala won the next five games and walked off Armstrong with a straight-sets ticket to Round 2.

Rematch waiting in Round 2

Next is Oleksandra Oliynykova, who beat Reese Brantmeier 6-4, 6-4. It is a rematch of their Strasbourg meeting in May 2026, when Oliynykova won. Eala already matched her previous US Open run by clearing Round 1. Now she gets a chance to go further against a player who owns that one prior meeting.

"Of course it was very difficult. You know, every exchange had its own challenges, especially in the start of the second set," Eala said in her on-court interview, per GMA Network. "I think she put me in uncomfortable positions and she's been having a great run coming from quali and a good past couple of weeks. So I'm really happy with this match."

Elsewhere on the same Armstrong night, Gael Monfils won on his 40th birthday and Mirra Andreeva cleaned up her opener. Al Jazeera/Reuters called Eala one of the hottest tickets of the day after she mowed down Stoiana. Sixty-five minutes, a 5-0 first-set surge, five straight games to finish, and a second-round rematch that already has Strasbourg history attached.