Two in a row? Maybe. Alex Eala won her first-ever WTA title by winning the Citi Open ahead of the Canadian Open, but she has been playing well enough that she might also earn the title in Toronto. She is just four wins away from doing so.
To be clear: Eala's path forward is far from easy, but then anyone facing the Filipina might think the same. While still lacking a huge serve, she has been bombastically precise with her groundstrokes, forcing her opponent to defend with brilliance or be swept off the court.
On Sunday, the No. 20-ranked Eala will take on 12th-seed Belinda Bencic, who won the Canadian Open in 2015. Bencic is a high-IQ player who certainly will not make things easy for the Filipina. Eala will need to keep playing the angles and take advantage of whatever opportunities she gets.
Alex Eala has a clear path to the 2026 Canadian Open title
Should the rising star get through Bencic, the competition might get even more difficult. In the quarterfinals, Eala would play either Coco Gauff or 19-year-old Alina Korneeva. The Filipina has never played the Russian, but has split the meetings with the American, both of which came in 2026.
In the quarterfinals of Dubai, Gauff dominated Eala 6-0, 6-2. As the Filipina's massive number of fans know, however, she learns and adjusts quickly. When the two players met not long after at Indian Wells, Gauff was forced to retire from the match, but was trailing Eala 2-6, 0-2.
If Eala can reach the semifinals, things would get extremely interesting. The other side of her bracket includes Canadian Leylah Fernandez, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka, WTA No. 2 Elena Rybakina, and Liudmila Samsonova. Eala defeated Osaka in the semifinals in DC and also beat Fernandez at the Citi Open.
She has not yet played Liudmila. She is 1-1 against Rybakina, but Eala defeated Rybakina earlier this summer in their last meeting on a grass court. This all means that Eala has had recent success against almost any player she might face the rest of her side of the bracket.
In the final, she might face WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, whom she has never played, or possibly six-time major winner Iga Swiatek. Alexndra Eala often plays her best against better players, though. That includes taking on Swiatek three times and besting her twice. That includes winning in straight sets at Wimbledon this year.
Add us as a preferred source on Google