Former world No 4 Greg Rusedski has revealed the “dangerous combination” Alex Eala possesses after her opening round win at the 2026 US Open.

Eala dismantled world No 122 Mary Stoiana 6-1, 6-2 in the first round at the New York major in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday night.

The world No 18, who is seeded 17th, is aiming to improve on the second round result she achieved on her main draw US Open debut last year.

The 21-year-old Filipina is enjoying a strong North American summer hard-court season, and she has now won nine of her last 11 matches.

Speaking on his Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast, Rusedski lauded Eala following her dominant opener at Flushing Meadows.

“Well, she’s the biggest superstar in the women’s game. No question about it, at the moment. I mean, she’s box office,” said the 1997 US Open finalist.

“She handles the pressure exceptionally well. The roof was closed. She talked about it in her press conference. And what I found [interesting] about her press conference was the demeanour, the composure. She got asked that question, and she said, well, yes, it feels different this year, but she’ll manage it. And she knows what she needs to do.

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“She talked about working on her serve and improving her serve. How her service speed numbers have gone up as well. So, she’s continually looking to get better and she likes a big stage.

“It was an impressive performance in her opening round, and she’s only going to go from strength to strength. And what I like about her, she’s got that humbleness and that confidence, and that’s a dangerous combination.

“So, from my point of view, I’m looking like she’s on a crash course to meet Coco Gauff in the fourth round, and possibly become the first Filipina to be in the quarter-finals of major. She’s playing that well.

“I was impressed with her movement, her return of serve, her groundstrokes. She was impressive.

“But before we get ahead of that, she’s got [Iva] Jovic in her section, as well, who she played like a little exhibition match with.”

The former British No 1 continued: “There’s all this intrigue, but she is improving all the time. This is exciting. She’s box office. She’s on all the posters in New York city, which is unbelievable. Nike’s used her in all the campaigns, which shows you her popularity and her global appeal.

“And there was discussion on other platforms and podcasts about, you know, will they put her on Louis Armstrong? Will they put her on Ashe? There’s lots of people thinking she is the main show, at the moment. And there’s others saying, ‘no, this is America. We’re not going to put her onto the main show courts every single match.’

“But I think she deserves it. She’s the new kid on the block. She’s for real. She’s nothing but positive for our sport.”

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