ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA will not play in the US Open main draw until Wednesday but ticket prices have doubled for her debut at Louis Armstrong Stadium, the tournament’s second-largest venue with 14,000 seats.
It’s a step down from the 23,00-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, where Ms. Eala, WTA No. 18, played a Stars of the Open exhibition match against world No. 14 Iva Jovic.
“We knew it had to be on a major stadium,” said tournament director Eric Butorac in an interview with the Tennis Channel.
Ms. Eala kicks off her Open campaign against WTA No. 122 Mary Stoiana, who grew up in nearby Connecticut and won a US NCAA national championship with Texas A&M University.
“We thought that’s a great place to start but I’ve already kind of monitored some of the secondary pricing and that session is blowing up. It’s just amazing to see. I can’t wait to have her out there, late at night and see the Filipino crowd behind her. It’s gonna be really special.”
According to TicketData Tracker founder Keith Slusser, the get-in price at the Louis Armstrong Stadium doubled from $200 to $400 after the US Open announced Ms. Eala’s schedule and court assignment on Sunday.
“Alex Eala fever is running hot in NYC,” Mr. Slusser posted on X, adding that no other venue in Flushing Meadows had an uptick of more than 25% compared to the 100% jump for Ms. Eala’s return after a second-round finish on her US Open debut last year.
Louis Armstrong Stadium is next door to Arthur Ashe, the biggest venue in the world specialized for tennis.
“We are fortunate to have her in the mix. We saw some of the crowd turned up there (at Arthur Ashe for the Stars of the Open). I don’t know if you guys caught any of that match but it was electric in there,” Mr. Butorac said.
“She’s so friendly to everyone behind the scenes. She wants to meet people, she wants to engage, she wants to do everything. I hope she doesn’t lose that. It is so special,” he added.
Ms. Eala’s crowd pull has been demonstrated before, most recently at the Mubadala DC Open, which she won, and Toronto’s National Bank Open.
Ms. Eala, 21, enters the tournament with the strongest seeding of her Grand Slam run at No. 17. — John Bryan Ulanday