Alex Eala is one step away from enjoying the best US Open campaign of her young career ahead of her second round match at Flushing Meadows.

Eala reached the second round of the Grand Slam last season, after picking up her very first win at a major by beating Clara Tauson in round one.

The star has the chance to better that as she plays Oleksandra Oliynykova in the second round in New York on Thursday, 3rd September.

Eala has, once again, been one of the most popular stars at the tournament, with fans packing out her first round match on Louis Armstrong Arena.

Jim Courier, speaking on The Tennis Channel, the American icon hoped that the star might make it at least another round to set up a tantalising match-up.

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“It’s incredible. When your life changes like this, and granted, she hasn’t won a big title yet, it will get even more exponentially, from a popularity standpoint, bigger for her should she do that, and she might someday, but even without that, she is transforming the culture of tennis, certainly, in her country, and bringing more fans under the tent,” said Courier.

“And I’ve got to tell you, if I’m the USTA, I would be so pumped if Eala makes the third round to play Iva Jovic, the young American who is equally impressive when you hear her speak. That would be a real showcase for not just the future of women’s tennis, but I think just the young present.”

Should Jovic and Eala meet in the third round of the US Open, it would not be their first meeting in the sport. The pair have met twice already this year, with both matches going the way of the American.

Jovic knocked Eala out of the first round of Roland Garros in their very first meeting, beating the Filipina star by a scoreline of 6-4, 6-2.

The American earned another straight sets victory against Eala at Queen’s, as she beat the 21-year-old 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 16 of the grass court tournament.

Jovic and Eala have also played doubles with each other several times throughout 2026, which would add another layer to their potential US Open meeting.

The pair reached the semi finals of the ASB Classic in Auckland at the beginning of the year, where they lost to Chinese duo Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.

They also played Indian Wells together, where they were less successful, losing in the first round to Hailey Baptiste and Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.

In order to meet in the third round, Eala would need to beat Oliynykova and Jovic would need to find a way past Britain’s Fran Jones.