Courtesy: Instagram accounts of Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime
Alexandra “Alex” Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime bowed out of the US Open 2026 mixed doubles after stumbling against the husband-and-wife pair of Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in the first round at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York on Tuesday night (Philippine time).
Eala and Auger-Aliassime’s debut partnership lasted for only 40 minutes as the tennis power couple of Svitolina and Monfils flaunted an impressive chemistry in their first match together.
The Filipino-Canadian tandem took the opening game of the Round of 16 match but the Ukrainian-French couple reeled off four straight games to wrap up the first set in just 16 minutes.
Svitolina and Monfils, who boast longer professional experience and have been ranked as high as No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, kept their momentum going to seal the quick win with just a single unforced error against Eala and Auger-Aliassime’s eight.
With the early exit in her mixed doubles debut, Eala now shifts her focus to her much bigger singles campaign in the last Grand Slam of the year.
Eala is projected as the No. 17 seed in the US Open women’s singles after soaring to a career-high No. 18 in the latest WTA rankings.
The ATP No. 4 Auger-Aliassime, for his part, will also see action as a seeded player in the singles main draw slated August 30 to September 13.
Meanwhile, Svitolina and Monfils advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will take on the winner of the match featuring top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovoc versus top-ranked doubles netters Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten.
Svitolina, ranked No. 9 in the world, will also play in the women’s singles while Monfils, currently No. 307, will join the men’s singles as a main draw wildcard.