Alex Eala's breakthrough summer continued in Toronto, where the Filipino star reached the round of 16 at the Canadian Open before falling to Belinda Bencic in straight sets. While the defeat stings, the broader context is genuinely remarkable: over the last four shared tournaments, Eala and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka have exited at exactly the same stage every single time.
At the Italian Open, both were eliminated in the round of 32, Sabalenka by Sorana Cirstea and Eala by Elena Rybakina. At the Berlin Open on grass, both reached the semifinals of the WTA 500 event. At Wimbledon, both departed in the fourth round, with Sabalenka suffering a surprise loss to Naomi Osaka. And now in Toronto, Sabalenka fell to Ekaterina Alexandrova while Eala was eliminated by Bencic. Four tournaments, four identical outcomes.
The symmetry is all the more striking given what Eala has already accomplished this season. She claimed her first WTA title at the Washington Open, defeating Jessica Pegula in the final after wins over Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka along the way. Her Wimbledon run, which included a victory over defending champion Iga Swiatek, was her deepest Grand Slam performance to date.
Looking ahead, Eala will make her main draw debut at the Cincinnati Open, guaranteeing her additional ranking points, before heading to Flushing Meadows. At last year's US Open she recorded her first career Grand Slam main draw victory, beating Clara Tauson, so she will be defending those points in New York.
With the top 20 squarely in her sights and her game clearly operating at an elite level, TennisDraw users have been heavily backing Eala as a deep-run candidate heading into the US Open swing.
