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Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates match point against Clara Tauson of Denmark during their Women's Singles First Round match on Day One of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Sarah Stier, Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK -- Less than 24 hours after her historic upset of Danish 14th seed Clara Tauson, Filipina tennis star Alex Eala returned to the practice courts of the US Open together with her coaches from the Rafa Nadal Academy.
Eala is now shifting her focus to her second round match, where she will take on Spain's Cristina Bucșa.
The match is scheduled for Wednesday evening in New York.
READ: Alex Eala to face Cristina Bucșa in round 2 of US Open
The 27-year-old Bucșa defeated American Claire Liu, 6-2, 6-1, to set up the showdown with Eala.
Bucșa has been playing in the women's tour since 2015 and broke into the Top 100 in January 2023. She is currently ranked 95th in the singles and 35th in doubles.
Eala and Bucșa have met just once before, back in 2021 in a W25 tournament in Grenoble, France. That match went Eala's way, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(8), allowing the Filipino to advance to the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Filipinos in New York remain on a high after watching Eala's stunning upset of Tauson.
Eala had to crawl her way back from a 1-5 deficit in the third set before taking a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13/11) triumph against the higher-seeded player.
"It was very very exciting. It was worth it— my voice is hoarse right now from shouting," said one fan, who drove from Delaware to watch the match. "I went to Miami also for [her] semifinals against Jessica Pegula, I also watched during the junior championships here. I was there when she won the juniors US Open."
The 20-year-old Eala had been grateful for the support of the Filipino fans in her match against Tauson, and expressed her pride in representing the country in the international stage.
"I'm so blessed to be the first to do this," Eala said. "I take so much pride in representing my country. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it adds meaning to what I do."
READ: Alex Eala 'over the moon' after bagging historic first at US Open
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