‘Eala-mania’ a reason why US Open ticket prices reach all-time high

NEW Alexandra Eala of the Philippines competes against Iva Jovic of the United States during the stars of the open at Fan Week as part of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2026 in New York City. Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images/AFP

Alex Eala has helped drive ticket prices to all-time high levels as the US Open gets off the ground at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Friday (Saturday in Manila), with the Filipino superstar taking the court against a yet-to-be-named qualifier on Sunday morning.

“Price increases for the US Open this year reflect big names like Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz and Alex Eala, setting records in anticipation of getting to see these huge stars perform,” Yahoo Sports’ contributing writer Shlomo Sprung quoted Michael Stock, GameTime’s director of pricing and business strategy, as saying in a report published Friday.

READ: Alex Eala seeded No. 17 at US Open, faces qualifier in first round

According to Sprung’s report, average ticket prices this year ballooned from $196 in 2022 to $346 (around P21,100) this year, where the average Armstrong ticket price is up 52 percent year-over-year.

The 21-year-old Eala, a former US Open girls’ champion, is seeded 17th in New York and belongs to the quarterfinal draw of Coco Gauff, who won the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open event, 6-2, 6-4, over Jessica Pegula last week in Ohio.

Her breakout tournament in Miami in the previous year signaled the start of a new form of madness in how live matches are being attended, as Filipino communities, wherever Eala plays, come out in droves to show support, a following that earned the name “Eala-mania.”

READ: Alex Eala, Iva Jovic share court with dads in US Open exhibition

Even other WTA stars welcomed this development as something good for the sport.

Should Eala, who broke through at the WTA level by ruling the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, also against Pegula, advance to the second round anew, she will face the winner of the Oleksandra Oliynykova-Reese Brantmeier match. Brantmeier made the main draw as a wildcard.

Also on her side of the draw are No. 14 seed Iva Jovic, who takes on Magdalena Fręch, and Magda Linette, who also faces a qualifier in the first round.

In the previous year, the Filipino tennis ace reached the Round of 64 after beating Clara Tauson in a breakthrough Grand Slam win.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, will be making his first tournament appearance in singles play since April. He played in the mixed doubles and was forced out of the first round with his team-up with the legendary Serena Williams.

Alcaraz is the No. 2 seed and will face Roman Safiullin. The two-time US Open champion was forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon because of a right wrist injury.

The Spaniard looked rusty in the mixed doubles tournament. He may have to be sharper against Safiullin, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, upsetting Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca along the way before falling to 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic in four sets.

Safiullin also upset Alcaraz, ranked No. 2 at the time, in the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris in 2023. Alcaraz avenged that loss the following year at the Paris Olympics in their lone other meeting. —With a report from AP