ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA enters the final phase of her buildup with an exhibition match against her close friend Iva Jovic as the US Open draws the battle lines on Friday ahead of main draw action early next week.

While awaiting her official opponent in the draw expected to be released on Friday, Ms. Eala will face the American player at 6:30 a.m. Manila time in the Stars of the Open exhibition matches, an annual Fan Week event benefiting the USTA Foundation, at center court of Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Ms. Eala is 0-2 against Ms. Jovic in official matches, having lost to her at the French Open in Paris, 6-4, 6-2, and at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, 6-2, 6-2, both this year. The two also partnered in doubles and reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this year.

In Stars of the Open, the 21-year-old Filipina and 18-year-old American will be joined by fellow rising stars Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, Joao Fonseca of Brazil, Amanda Anisimova, Learner Tien and Alex Michelson of the United States, as well as Arthur Fils of France.

Legends, led by 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and Andy Roddick of the United States, were featured earlier this week as the US Open opened the season’s final major with a series of side events.

Hours after her aborted US Open mixed doubles debut, Ms. Eala was among those watching from the royal box during the marquee exhibition that marked the Swiss legend’s return to tennis since retiring in 2022.

The WTA No. 18 Eala and ATP No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada fell, 4-1, 4-1, to the husband-and-wife pair of Gael Monfils of France and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the first round of the stacked field led by Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka, with the US Open having revamped its mixed doubles championship this year into a two-day Fan Week showcase featuring 16 teams and shortened sets played to four games.

Monfils and Svitolina advanced to the semifinals, where they were beaten by the Czech duo of Karolina Muchova and Jacub Menzik.

Aside from the friendly match against Ms. Jovic, Ms. Eala has also been fine-tuning her game in practice sessions with two-time US Open champion Venus Williams ahead of what is shaping up to be the biggest tournament of her career so far.

After being seeded No. 29 at Wimbledon, where she made a memorable run to the Round of 16, Ms. Eala is projected to receive the highest seeding in history for any Filipino player, given her new career-best position inside the Top 20, a climb that began with her surprise semifinal run at the Miami Open in March, where she stunned Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to become the first Filipina to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal.

Ms. Eala also has unfinished business at the US Open after a second-round exit last year, when she made her main-draw debut as the then-world No. 75, on the same Flushing Meadows courts where she reigned as girls’ singles champion in 2022, the crowning achievement of her junior career. — John Bryan Ulanday