A Filipino male fan of tennis sensation Alex Eala was spotted doing the “Otso Otso” dance during her opening-round match at the US Open 2026.
A video of a Pinoy fan performing the dance, cheered on by fellow Filipinos, went viral, prompting some to wonder how they would explain the iconic dance to non-Pinoys.
“Spotted at the Alex Eala match: Otso-Otso on the big screen,” business sports reporter Colin Salao of Front Office Sports said on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, September 2.
Spotted at the Alex Eala match: Otso-Otso on the big screen pic.twitter.com/CYX6Iamc8Q
— Colin Salao (@colincsalao) September 2, 2026
The moment occurred during Alex’s opening-round match against the home bet Mary Stoiana at Louis Armstrong Stadium, which she won.
“How to explain to a non-Filipino,” another X user commented.
Some quipped that it could be described as the Filipino version of twerking, a dance style in which a person rapidly shakes, bounces, or thrusts their hips and buttocks while in a low, squatting stance.
“Twerking but make it Filipino,” an X user wrote.
“They would think it’s twerking, but no, it’s the otso-otso!” another user commented.
Salao, meanwhile, shared that some non-Filipinos sitting behind him were “pleasantly confused” after seeing the dance.
“Just quickly said, ‘it’s a special Filipino dance,’ and they laughed,” he added, accompanied by a laughing emoji.
“Otso Otso” is an energetic 2004 Filipino novelty song performed by Bayani Agbayani.
It is accompanied by a dance in which the performer bends their knees and moves their hips or waist back and forth to the beat of the song.
Meanwhile, Alex has advanced to the second round of the US Open, where she is set to face Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova.
The Filipina has reached a career-high WTA ranking of No. 18, advanced to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, and won her first WTA Tour-level title on the hard courts of Washington, D.C.
