Bucsa takes down Eala to reach US Open third round for first time

NEW YORK -- After a thrilling first-round upset of 14th-seeded Clara Tauson -- in a match where she came from 5-1 down in the third and prevailed in a 13-11 tiebreak -- Alexandra Eala couldn't sustain her momentum in a second-round loss to Cristina Bucsa.

The World No. 95 defeated the Filipina upstart 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the third round of the US Open for the first time in her career. 

Eala, who made history as the first female player from the Philippines to compete in the singles main draw at Flushing Meadows, only converted three of her nine break points. (The Spaniard was more effective in those critical moments, taking six of eight.) Bucsa was also more consistent with her first serve (71.9% to 66.1%), including the only three aces of the match.

As was the case in Eala's first-round win -- and really anywhere she's played in 2025 -- the crowd was firmly in the Filipina's favor from the get-go, but Bucsa remained locked in throughout, never letting the 20-year-old mount a serious comeback.

Bucsa, 27, came into the final Slam of the season with a losing singles record -- though she's won two doubles trophies in 2025, in Bogota and most recently in Monterrey -- but she's looked rock solid this week en route to matching her best-ever result at a Grand Slam. (She made the third round of the Australian Open in 2023, and reached that round again at Wimbledon earlier this summer.) She breezed past American Claire Liu in her first match, dropping just three games and earning an astounding 19 break points (though she only converted five of them).

It's a disappointing exit for Eala, who reached the semifinals of Miami back in March, but she appears to be getting back into playing shape after pulling out of Cincinnati and Monterrey with a shoulder injury. She's scheduled to be back in action in Sao Paolo next month.

Bucsa will player either 19th-seeded Elise Mertens or Lulu Sun in the third round.