After her fourth-round defeat in Toronto, Alex Eala is set to make her first appearance at the Cincinnati Open.
Eala fell to Belinda Bencic at the Canadian Open, losing to the Swiss in straight sets and conceding a bagel, 6-4, 6-0.
The loss followed the Filipina’s best campaign to date at the Washington Open, where she clinched her first tour-level title.
Alexandra Eala will win __ WTA titles during her career
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Eala beat Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula on her way to hoisting the trophy in Washington, becoming the first from her country, man or woman, to win a tour title.
She has enjoyed a hot run of form as of late, but Eala will be tested at the Cincinnati Open after receiving a fairly tough draw.
Greg Rusedski reacts to Alex Eala’s Cincinnati Open draw
Eala is on a third-round collision course with two-time Grand Slam finalist Amanda Anisimova in Cincinnati, and could face Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova in round four.
But former British player Greg Rusedski is not worried about Eala’s potential competition at the WTA 1000 event.
Speaking on his podcast, ‘Off Court with Greg‘, Rusedski asked: “Why should she care whether she’s playing an Anisimova or whoever’s in the section?
“Look at the people she beat to win Washington. It was world-class players from start to finish.
Alexandra Eala will finish 2026 ranked — in the world
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“Then she goes to Toronto running on fumes and emotions and still wins a couple of matches as well.
“So I’m not worried about it. She competes, she fights. She’s so mentally tough that it doesn’t matter who’s in her way.
“You’ve got to play great tennis to beat her. And I see her only going one direction, and that’s up.”
Alex Eala’s first opponent at the 2026 Cincinnati Open
In the first match of her Cincinnati Open debut, Eala will take on Elena-Gabriela Ruse, whom she has faced just once before.
The two met in qualifying at the US Open back in 2024, when Eala was still a teenager.
Eala took the first set in that match, which was in the third round of qualifying, but Ruse rallied back to deny the youngster a main draw appearance at a major.
The following year, Eala made the US Open main draw and clinched her first Grand Slam victory over Clara Tauson.
Now the world number 20, Eala is seeded 17th at the Cincinnati Open and will receive a bye in the first round.
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