But she will not be out of action for long.
On Monday, August 10 (Manila time), Filipina tennis star Alex Eala returned to the hard court at the Canadian Open 2026 (a.k.a. the National Bank Open) for next match in the tournament’s round of 16.
There, the tourney’s 25th seed faced Swiss player Belinda Bencic, a tennis veteran who is seeded 12 in the competition for a chance to entef the quarterfinals round.
In the first set of their battle, the two fiercely contested as they consistently broke each other’s win point-by-point. However, in the ninth game, Bencic took control to win the the opening set.
In the succeeding set, the European tennis star did not drop the ball and swept the rising Asian tennis player to close the game in just one hour and 13 minutes, 6-4, 6-0.
This game closes a long-running winning streak for the Filipina, which started with her historic run at the Mubadala DC Open from late July to early August, where she won her first-ever WTA Tour trophy—also a first for any Filipino tennis player.
While she may have ended her Toronto stint, Eala has another tournament on her calendar in the coming days, as she is confirmed to be competing in the Cincinnati Open in Ohio, USA in a few days’ time.
