Alex Eala and her fans are headed to the weekend at the U.S. Open, along with two-time champion Naomi Osaka and 2023 winner Coco Gauff.

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, gestures after she won her match against Oleksandra Oliynykova, of Ukraine, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (Photo: AP)

So are Madison Keys and men's top seed Alexander Zverev — just barely — but not No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who became the highest-seeded player knocked out of the tournament thus far. No. 6 Alex de Minaur losing in straight sets to Botic van de Zandschulp made it four of the top-10 seeded men's players to get eliminated before the third round.

Zverev survived another early scare, but nothing about his second match was easy. He needed five sets and more than 4 1/2 hours to beat Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-3 in the nightcap that stretched well into Friday morning.

Osaka recovered after a mid-match lapse to advance to the third round with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Katerina Siniakova on Thursday, before Eala beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4.

Doubles play also began, though Serena and Venus Williams won’t play their first-round match until Friday night against Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint, who beat Serena in singles play at Wimbledon this summer.

Eala, the No. 17 seed from the Philippines, gave her passionate backers reason to cheer immediately by winning the first nine points against her Ukrainian opponent, who had won their only previous meeting.

“I think everybody represents something in their own way; I’m Filipino and I proudly represent that,” Eala said. “And a lot of the crowd here today is Filipino and I’m sure they share in that sentiment.”

Osaka wore silver and white under her long white jacket with a white visor as she arrived for her match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, three days after she was dressed in black with her hair done in cornrows under a headband in a tribute to former NBA superstar Allen Iverson for her opener at night.

The No. 13 seed won the first set in 30 minutes and then opened a 4-2 lead in the second. But her level of play took a substantial dip, with 20 unforced errors in the set after only four in the first.

Osaka quickly regained control, breaking for a 2-0 lead in the third before finishing a 19-shot rally with a volley for a winner en route to taking the next game, appearing more relieved than excited by her nice touch.

“The match was definitely really tough and I don’t know, I just felt like I had to fight,” Osaka said. “I definitely had a couple opportunities in the second set and I think I was a little bit too hard on myself. So I took the bathroom break, regrouped a little, came back and just tried to have no regrets.”