Eala to take part in Stars of the Open ahead of US Open
By Lee Seng Foo3 days ago
Alexandra Eala will take part in the 2026 Stars of the Open exhibition ahead of this year’s US Open.
The fan-favourite event returns for a fourth straight year on August 27 at Arthur Ashe Stadium during US Open Fan Week, bringing together some of the sport’s brightest young stars for a series of exhibition matches.
Eala will be joined by Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca and Americans Iva Jovic and Learner Tien.
The Filipino heads into the exhibition after a breakthrough season that established her among the WTA Tour’s rising stars.
The 21-year-old reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, becoming the first Filipino to achieve the feat, and climbed into the world’s top 30 after earlier becoming the highest-ranked Filipino player in WTA history.
Ahead of the second half of the 2026 MotoGP season, Ai Ogura has firmly established himself as one of the championship's leading riders.
With a maiden victory at the Dutch Grand Prix and three more podium finishes, the Trackhouse rider sits second in the standings, trailing championship leader Jorge Martin by 14 points while holding a four-point advantage over defending champion Marc Marquez.
Still only in his second MotoGP season, the Japanese rider's success did not happen overnight. It represents the pinnacle of a development pathway that began more than a decade ago in a one-make junior series designed to uncover Asia's next generation of talent: the Moto4 Asia Cup, then known as the Asia Talent Cup.
While Ogura made his debut a year earlier, it was the championship's third season in 2016 that assembled what is now regarded arguably as its strongest-ever class. Contested over six rounds in Thailand, Qatar, Japan and Malaysia, Thailand's Somkiat Chantra claimed the title after edging Ogura and Indonesia's Andi Farid Izdihar in a closely fought championship battle that went down to the Sepang finale, while Indonesia's Gerry Salim and Japan's Yuki Kunii also celebrated victories during the season.
Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, that grid produced far more than future MotoGP riders. It gave rise to a generation that today forms the backbone of Asian motorcycle racing across Grand Prix, WorldSBK and the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).
More importantly, the class of 2016's success cemented the Moto4 Asia Cup's reputation as a genuine stepping stone to world championship racing, paving the way for graduates such as Hakim Danish, Azroy Anuar, Veda Pratama and Mario Aji.
The latest intake returns to action at the Sepang International Circuit from July 31 to August 2 for the second round of the 2026 season, with riders including Hayato Chishiki, Qabil Irfan and Bintang Pranata hoping to follow the pathway forged by Ogura and his contemporaries.
Whether any of them can match the achievements of the class of 2016 will only be known years from now. For the moment, that remarkable generation remains the benchmark for what the Moto4 Asia Cup can produce.
While Ogura now leads the way in MotoGP, here is where some of the other standout riders from that landmark 2016 class are today.
Somkiat Chantra
The 2016 champion became the first graduate from that class to reach MotoGP, making history as Thailand's first premier-class rider after progressing through Moto2, where he claimed two race victories. Although his MotoGP stint was brief, Chantra remains part of Honda's factory programme in 2026, competing in WorldSBK and representing the manufacturer at the Suzuka 8 Hours.
Andi Farid Izdihar
After finishing third in 2016, Andi Farid progressed through the European and Grand Prix ranks before returning to Asia, where he has established himself as one of Indonesia's leading superbike riders. The 28-year-old now races for JDT Racing Team in the ARRC's ASB1000 class alongside defending champion Hafizh Syahrin.
While several of his 2016 peers moved between championships, Ryusei Yamanaka has built one of the longest Grand Prix careers, competing in Moto3 continuously since 2019. With more than 120 Grands Prix to his name, the Japanese rider has become one of the category's most experienced competitors, proving that longevity at world championship level is an achievement in itself.
Can Öncü's name is forever etched into Grand Prix history after winning the 2018 Valencian Community Grand Prix on his Moto3 debut, becoming the youngest Grand Prix winner at the age of 15 years and 115 days. Rather than remaining on the MotoGP ladder, the Turkish rider later switched to the Supersport World Championship, where he is contesting his seventh season in 2026.
Deniz Öncü
After finishing 10th in 2016, Deniz Öncü returned to win the Moto4 Asia Cup title a year later before graduating to Moto3 and Moto2. He made history in 2025 by becoming the first Turkish rider to win a Moto2 race with victory at the Aragon Grand Prix, further underlining the depth of talent that emerged from the class of 2016.
Alexandra Eala, Janice Tjen and Southeast Asia's leading women's singles players are taking different routes through the hard-court season as they build towards the 2026 US Open, participating in tournaments across Europe and North America.
Based on the latest schedule, Eala begins her hard-court campaign at the Washington Open, where she will compete in singles and reunite with Venus Williams in doubles, having previously paired up at the Bad Homburg Open.
The Filipino is then entered directly into the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, the two WTA 1000 events that serve as the final major stops before New York.
Indonesia's Janice Tjen follows a similar schedule, playing singles in Washington while partnering China's Zhang Shuai in doubles before heading to the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open main draws.
Indonesia's top doubles player, Aldila Sutjiadi, will also feature in Washington alongside New Zealand's Erin Routliffe.
Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee, meanwhile, is on top form after capturing the Istanbul Open title last week.
She continues her preparations at this week's Prague Open before competing at the Vancouver Open, with qualifying campaigns awaiting her at both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.
Thai compatriot Mananchaya Sawangkaew, fresh from her breakthrough run to the third round at Wimbledon, will also be in Vancouver as well as attempt to earn places in the main draws through qualifying at both WTA 1000 events.
All four Southeast Asian singles players are on the US Open entry list, with the region set to field its largest-ever women's contingent at the final Grand Slam of the season.
The US Open main draw begins on August 30, with live and comprehensive coverage on SPOTV NOW.
Southeast Asian women's players on the US Open hard-court swing
Four Southeast Asian women will compete in the singles main draw of this year's US Open, marking a large representation of the region at the final Grand Slam of the season.
Philippine trailblazer Alexandra Eala and Indonesia's Janice Tjen return to the main draw for the second straight year, this time joined by Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew and Lanlana Tararudee.
Their presence at Flushing Meadows continues a breakthrough season for Southeast Asian tennis, with all four having already competed in at least one Grand Slam main draw in 2026.
Eala enjoyed the deepest run of the quartet, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon after defeating former world number one Iga Swiatek in straight sets.
The 21-year-old eventually fell to Jasmine Paolini in three sets to record the best Grand Slam result of her career.
Sawangkaew also made an impact at the All England Club, advancing through qualifying and defeating French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska en route to the third round, where she lost to eventual finalist Karolina Muchova.
Tjen reached the second round at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, notably defeating 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez at each tournament.
Tararudee, meanwhile, qualified for the Australian Open before making her Wimbledon main-draw debut, where she defeated Lilli Tagger for her first Grand Slam match victory.
The quartet will face a field featuring many of the sport's leading players, including world number one Aryna Sabalenka, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, Australian Open winner Elena Rybakina and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova. Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka are also among the title contenders.
The men's draw is headlined by world number one Jannik Sinner, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz as they battle for the year's final Grand Slam title.
The US Open main draw begins on August 30, with live and comprehensive coverage on SPOTV NOW.
Carlos Alcaraz is set to make his long-awaited return from injury at next month's Cincinnati Open after being included in in the men's singles field.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion has not competed since injuring his right wrist at the Barcelona Open in April, forcing him to withdraw before his second-round match and miss the rest of the clay and grass-court seasons, including the French Open and Wimbledon.
Now ranked world number three, Alcaraz will use the ATP Masters 1000 event as his only competitive outing before defending his US Open title later this month.
The Spaniard returns to Cincinnati as the reigning champion after beating world number one Jannik Sinner in last year's final.
Sinner again headlines the men's field following a dominant campaign that has seen him win all five ATP Masters 1000 titles this season and successfully defend his Wimbledon crown.
Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur are also among the leading contenders.
The women's draw features world number one Aryna Sabalenka alongside Grand Slam champions Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys and Elena Rybakina, while Southeast Asia will be represented by the Philippines' Alexandra Eala and Indonesia's Janice Tjen.
The Cincinnati Open runs from August 13-23 and serves as the final ATP and WTA 1000 event before the US Open.
