Alex Eala, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka safely through to Canadian Open fourth round; Eala to face Belinda Bencic

Alex Eala, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka safely through to Canadian Open 2026 fourth round

Eala, the world No. 20, extends her winning streak to seven and sets up a blockbuster clash with Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic.

‘Eala-mania’ continues to grip North America as Alexandra Eala secured her passage into the round of 16 of the 2026 Canadian Open .

The Philippines’ tennis star, who is at a career high of world No. 20, survived a three-set tussle with the unseeded Caty McNally on Friday (7 August) to win 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Toronto is the latest city to see packed stands with Philippines flags, something which has become commonplace on the WTA tour but is reaching new heights with the nation’s diaspora in the U.S. and Canada.

“Someone in the crowd said they wanted to be Filipino for tonight,” Eala said after the match. “That stuck with me. I went to a Bad Bunny concert. I felt Puerto Rican for that night. So for the Filipino community to have that effect on other people… I really hope the Canadians also get that feeling of hospitality from the Filipinos.”

A seventh consecutive win for Eala sets up a blockbuster fourth-round matchup with Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic , who herself survived a three-and-a-half-hour battle against Taylor Townsend . This will be their first career meeting.

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Elsewhere at the Canadian Open, fourth seed Coco Gauff had no issue dispatching the No. 29 seed Maria Sakkari , coming through to prevail 6-1, 6-4.

The two-time major singles champion is playing her first tournament since Wimbledon and has three wins under her belt, including in the women’s doubles with McNally. Gauff meets the top-seeded doubles team, Kateřina Siniaková and Zhang Shuai , on Saturday, while teenager Alina Korneeva awaits in the singles fourth round.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka needed just 72 minutes to beat Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2 for her fourth win of the North American hard court swing.

There was also strong support for Canadian home hope Leylah Fernandez , who beat Roland-Garros champion Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-4 for a first win over a top-10 player since her run to the Washington Open title in July 2025.

The WTA Canadian Open takes place from 2-13 August in Toronto, while the ATP men’s competition is currently being held in Montreal with the same dates.

Tennis | National Bank Open | Toronto & Montreal | Canada