Alex Eala Advances at U.S. Open as Naomi Osaka Reaches
Philippines' Alexandra Eala celebrates defeating Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova during their women's singles second round tennis match on day five of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on September 3, 2026.

Alex Eala and Naomi Osaka advanced at the US Open after both players won their second-round matches on Thursday.

Alex Eala beats Oliynykova at US Open

Eala, the No. 17 seed from the Philippines, defeated Oleksandra Oliynykova, 6-1, 6-4, while two-time US Open champion Osaka beat Katerina Siniakova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.

Eala gave her Filipino supporters plenty to cheer about from the outset. She won the first nine points against Oliynykova and quickly took control of the match.

The Ukrainian had won their only previous meeting, but Eala did not allow that result to affect her performance.

The 20-year-old Filipino stayed focused in the second set and closed out the match in straight sets. Her strong start also energised the crowd, with many fans there to support her.

Eala said she was proud to represent the Philippines and had noticed the strong support from Filipino fans at the tournament.

"I'm Filipino and I proudly represent that," Eala said. She added that many people in the crowd shared the same feeling, NBC reported.

Eala will head into the weekend at Flushing Meadows with another chance to make a deep run. Her progress has been one of the bright spots for Philippine tennis at this year's tournament.

Naomi Osaka fights back to advance

Osaka had a tougher route to the third round. She looked in control early against Siniakova, winning the first set in just 30 minutes. She also took a 4-2 lead in the second set.

However, Osaka's level dipped in the second set. She committed 20 unforced errors after making only four in the opening set. Siniakova capitalised and forced a deciding set.

Osaka then found her rhythm again. She broke serve to take a 2-0 lead in the third set and continued to press forward. A 19-shot rally ended with Osaka hitting a winning volley, helping her take the next game.

The Japanese star said she had to fight through the difficult match. According to AP, she also said she used a bathroom break to regroup after becoming too hard on herself during the second set.

"I just tried to have no regrets," Osaka said.

While Eala and Osaka advanced, several other big names had different results. Madison Keys narrowly survived after saving five match points before beating Anna Bondar in a deciding-set tiebreak.

No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated by Karen Khachanov after saying he felt dizzy and was seeing spots during the match.

Originally published on sportsworldnews.com