Alex Eala lands five-figure US Open payday despite first-round defeat

Alex Eala began her US Open campaign by competing in the mixed doubles with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime; however, it did not go to plan for the pair as they suffered a first-round exit.

The 21-year-old and Auger-Aliassime were granted wildcard status for the mixed doubles but were eliminated by the experienced French duo Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina, falling 4-1, 4-1.

Eala was not the only major name eliminated in the first round of this competition, as the pair of Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams lost to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.

While Novak Djokovic and his partner, the female world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, suffered defeat to Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova.

Despite this early exit from this new US Open competition, the quartet of stars have secured $20,000 each from the tournament’s prize pool.

The Czech pair of Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik would be crowned the eventual champions of this new format as they beat the partnership of Bencic and Cobolli.

By winning this mixed doubles tournament at Flushing Meadows, Muchova and Mensik would secure a fee of $500,000 each from the tournament’s prize pool.

Meanwhile, the Swiss and Italian pair of Bencic and Cobolli secured $250,000 each for finishing runner-up.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain interacts with Serena Williams of the United States in their mixed doubles match against Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Lloyd Glasspool of the United Kingdom, Getty Images

Since her elimination from the mixed doubles Eala has been focused on preparing for her campaign in the singles tournament at the 2026 US Open.

The 21-year-old has been spotted training with Venus Williams in New York ahead of the tournament, attempting to learn as much as she can from the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

Meanwhile, it is now understood that Eala will face her friend and hometown favourite, Iva Jovic.

Eala lost her past two WTA matches against Jovic as the Filipina fell to the 18-year-old in the first round of the French Open and also lost in the HSBC Championship round of 16.

The 21-year-old enters this US Open confident after her incredible 2026 campaign on the WTA Tour, winning her first singles title in DC last month at the Washington Open, a WTA 500 event.

The Filipina athlete boasts a strong record against Top 10 opponents in 2026, and she can similarly beat nearly anyone at her best, so she may be confident going into this US Open.