US Open 2026 pages
Sports · US Open 2026 · Women's Singles · Round of 128
Alexandra Eala vs 
Mary Stoiana
Sunday, August 30, 2026 · Round of 128
Watch: ESPN · ESPN2 · ABC · ESPN app
My pick: Alexandra Eala to advance · locked 2026-08-29 01:40 UTCPrediction
Eala is the 17th seed, world No. 18, left-handed, 31–19 this season and 21 years old — the biggest name in this batch. Stoiana is a 122nd-ranked American qualifier making her US Open main-draw debut, 9–9 on the season with a 5–9 hard record. Eala's 322-point hard-court Elo edge is the second largest in this batch. Straight sets, unless a home crowd finds something.
The case for Alexandra Eala
84% to winSeventeenth seed, world No. 18, left-handed, 31–19. Eala's rise has been built on exactly this kind of match — taking care of opponents she should beat — and a 322-point hard-court Elo gap does not usually get argued with in the first round.
The case for Mary Stoiana
16% to winStoiana is American, playing at home, and has three qualifying wins on these courts this week. Eala's career hard-court record (45–36) is solid rather than overwhelming, and a seeded 21-year-old carrying expectation is a different proposition to a qualifier carrying none.
Both cases written 2026-08-29, before the first ball — frozen into the record exactly as written, whatever the result. The percentages are mine — opinions with a percent sign on. They add to 100 because tennis has no draw to hide the rounding in.
Tale of the tape
Alexandra EalaMary StoianaPlayer vitals: US Open official player feed (usopen.org) and Tennis Abstract career match logs · as of 2026-08-28.
Career head-to-head: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-28.
The briefing
Storylines
- Eala is seeded 17th — her first time seeded at the US Open.
- Stoiana is making her US Open main-draw debut through qualifying, at 23.
- A 322-point hard-court Elo gap, the second widest in this batch.
Head to head
They have never met.
Source: Tennis Abstract career match logs (tour-level) · as of 2026-08-28.
Watch: Opening-round coverage runs across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, with ESPN Deportes in Spanish — and every court streams in the ESPN app, including the whip-around channel that only exists in the early rounds. (ESPN press-room release and listings, as of 2026-08-27)
Court & schedule: Not yet assigned. Days one and two of the main draw are on the board; this match falls in the back half of the first round, and the US Open posts each day's order of play the evening before. (Official US Open order-of-play release cadence, as of 2026-08-28)
Weather: The forecast cooled since the draw: Sunday opens partly sunny near 80°F with a slight shower chance after 2 p.m., and a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms arrives with Sunday night. Monday is similar at 81°F, and the storm odds climb through Tuesday and Wednesday. Ashe and Armstrong close their roofs; the field courts wait. (National Weather Service New York forecast, as of 2026-08-28)
Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York — hard.
At this Stage
The Round of 128 is the widest the net ever gets: 64 matches a draw, spread across three days, every seed in action and every qualifier playing the biggest match of the year. This half of the bracket filled in late — qualifying ran a day long after rain pushed the last round to Friday, so these names were still blank slots on draw night. First-round losers leave with $140,000. The winner draws Oliynykova or Brantmeier in the Round of 64.
