Alexandra Eala of the Philippines at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 5, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew Stockman, Getty Images/AFP
Filipina tennis star Alex Eala was eliminated by Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 0-6, in their Round of 16 showdown at the 2026 Canadian Open.
Monday’s match opened brightly for Eala, who took four straight points to hold at love for 1-0. Bencic responded immediately with four straight of her own to level at 1-1, then broke at 2-1, attacking a second serve at 30-30 as Eala made a couple of errors.
Eala broke back to level at 2-2, but Bencic broke again to lead 3-2.
Alex Eala’s run at the National Bank Open comes to an end as she falls to Belinda Bencic. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN NewsThe Swiss veteran stretched her lead to 4-2 with strong serving before Eala produced another break to level at 4-4 and keep the set alive.
But Bencic edged ahead at 5-4 and closed it out 6-4, consistently finding sharp serve angles and winning with her second shot.
The second set was one-sided. Bencic jumped to 2-0, then 5-0, and closed it out 6-0.
The 21-year-old Filipina’s Toronto exit comes a week after she won her first WTA title in Washington.
Eala now heads to Cincinnati for another WTA 1000 before the US Open.
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