Alex Eala returns at Cincinnati Open; No. 17 seed, career-high

Tennis: How to watch Alex Eala live at Cincinnati Open - full schedule

Alex Eala arrives at the Cincinnati Open on a career-best run, earning the No. 17 seed after claiming her maiden WTA title in Washington and reaching the last 16 at the Canadian Open. Here’s how to follow the world No. 20 in Ohio.

Alex Eala returns to WTA 1000 action this week at the Cincinnati Open, staged from 13 to 23 August at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. The 21-year-old enters the hard-court tournament as the No. 17 seed – the highest seeding of her tennis career at this level – and receives an opening-round bye as one of the 32 seeded players.

Eala arrives as the reigning Mubadala DC Open champion. In Washington, she won her first WTA Tour singles title — the first by any Filipino player — beating defending champion Leylah Fernandez , Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka before coming from a set down to beat top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the final. The run took her into the world’s top 20 for the first time, at a career-high No. 20.

Eala carried that momentum into the Canadian Open, advancing to the last 16 before Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Belinda Bencic ended her run with a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Cincinnati now provides the final WTA 1000 test of the North American hard-court swing ahead of the US Open later this month.

After receiving a first-round bye, Eala will begin her campaign against either Magda Linette or Elena-Gabriela Ruse . Third seed Pegula is the highest-ranked player in her section of the draw, meaning the pair could meet again in the quarter-finals following their Washington title clash.

At the top of the draw, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the No. 1 seed, while Iga Świątek is back to defend the Cincinnati crown she captured for the first time in 2025.

Cincinnati Open 2026: Alex Eala’s schedule

Main-draw action begins on Thursday, 13 August and concludes with the singles final on Sunday, 23 August. Play starts at 11:00 ET during the day, with the evening session getting underway from 18:00 ET.

Eala , seeded 17th, skips the opening round and will make her Cincinnati debut in the second round against either Linette or Ruse . Her match date, court assignment and start time will be announced with the previous day’s order of play.

Second round: 15–16 August — Eala vs Linette or Ruse

Round of 16: 19 August

Cincinnati Open 2026: How to watch Alex Eala

Fans can follow Eala’s Cincinnati Open campaign through the following broadcasters:

Philippines – Premier Sports via Cignal, with streaming available through the BlastTV app

USA – Tennis Channel and the Tennis Channel app, which carries live coverage from every court

Great Britain – Sky Sports Tennis , with streaming via NOW

Viewers elsewhere can find their local broadcast options using the WTA’s official broadcaster finder .