Who is Mary Stoiana? Alex Eala's first-round opponent in US Open

Heading into the US Open, Alex Eala carries the higher ranking, greater experience, and the odds in her favor.

But her first-round opponent Mary Stoiana enters the main draw as a dangerous qualifier with a winning pedigree and nothing to lose.

Get to know who Mary Stoiana is.

The 23-year-old American is making her Grand Slam main draw debut after battling through three rounds of qualifying, where she beat Harmony Tan, Katie Swan, and Yue Yuan to punch her ticket to Flushing Meadows.

It is also a long time coming for Stoiana, who had tried to break into the US Open main draw in the past three editions but fell short in the qualifying rounds each time.

In the 2025 US Open, she lost to Shuai Zhang in the first qualifying round while she lost to Spanish Marina Ribera in the second qualifying round in 2024. In 2023, she also bowed early after losing to Viktorija Golubic in the qualifiers.

Stoiana also tried to enter the main draw of this year's Wimbledon and French Open but also could net get past the qualifying rounds of each major.

This time, she finally broke through and will make her Grand Slam debut.

But while Stoiana is the lesser-known challenger, she is no stranger to winning.

Stoiana made a name in the US NCAA, building a decorated collegiate career with Texas A&M and winning a pair of SEC Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024 while also seizing both the ITA Player of the Year and Honda Sports Awards in 2024.

It was also in 2024 when she led the Aggies to their first-ever US NCAA title.

Currently ranked No. 122 in the WTA rankings, Stoiana is also no stranger to Eala.

They had met once when the Pinay star pulled off a 7-5, 6-2 win in the second round of the 2024 Koser Jewelers Tennis Challenge.

See photos of Alex Eala in the US Open events here:

—JMB, GMA News