Alex Eala makes tennis history as US Open gets underway

Alex Eala has continued her incredible upward career trajectory by making tennis history as she prepares for her US Open campaign.

On Tuesday, Eala begins the tournament in the mixed doubles category when she teams up with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, taking on the husband-and-wife team of Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils.

Should Eala and Auger-Aliassime progress, they could end up coming up against the dream pairing of Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic after the draw was made.

Eala will also be in singles action and her appearance comes amid a historic achievement from the 21-year-old.

She has climbed to No. 18 in the latest WTA rankings - the highest she has ever been placed.

What's more, it is also the highest ever ranking from a Southeast Asian player in women’s singles - eclipsing the previous record of No.19 - which was jointly held by Yayuk Basuki and Tamarine Tanasugarn of Indonesia and Thailand, respectively.

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The Filipina started the year outside the top 50 but has been on a stunning run.

She won the Birmingham Challenger and got to the fourth round of Wimbledon, before picking up her first WTA title at the Washington Open.

Her prize money has picked up considerably and Eala, sponsored by Nike, has also broken a record before both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after a new shirt sold out in hours.

Eala's newfound fame and popularity have come almost overnight and she is flying the flag for her country - where she is considered to be the biggest thing since boxer Manny Pacquiao.

The pressure and increased spotlight could be tricky for a young woman to handle, but Eala is taking everything in her stride in fine fashion.

Eala's coach, Joan Bosch, claims that although "scary", Eala is very much enjoying the love from her fans.

“We could never think this would be like this,” Bosch said, speaking to Tennis365.

“We are super happy with the way that the Filipino community and fans are. Everywhere we go, they are there. This morning on the plane, we found a few Filipinos; they went from Washington to see Alex in Toronto again.

“It’s so nice to see how they really believe in her and how they have this passion on the court when she is playing.

“The court in Toronto was full every day when she was playing. For us, it is even sometimes scary, because it’s tough to always have the best level.

“This was a tough week for Alex because she won in Washington, she played the final on Monday, and we just travelled on Tuesday. It was not easy to handle. I am happy that she could do two good matches in the first two matches.”