TORONTO — Things were looking up after an inauspicious start at the National Bank Open women's tennis tournament. Canada's Leylah Fernandez earned a berth in the Round of 16. "Eala-Mania" found a higher gear with breakout star Alex Eala's latest victory. And WTA Tour headliners Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek were still in the field. "We couldn't be happier at this time," tournament director Karl Hale said. "We think that the tournament will continue to grow and grow and tennis will continue to grow and grow in Canada." The developments were most welcome for a WTA 1000 event that was dealt a stiff blow last month when 2025 champion Victoria Mboko of Burlington, Ont., withdrew due to a knee injury. Sapped of that bona fide domestic star power, Tennis Canada gave wild-card entries to 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and six other Canadians. Only two advanced — Kayla Cross of London, Ont., and Toronto's Katherine Sebov — and both were knocked out in the second round. Doubles star Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa also made a first-round exit as all Canadians were quickly eliminated from the four-player game. "We have nine of the top 10 (singles) players in the world, so obviously that's a tremendous factor in the success of this year's event," Hale said in a sit-down interview, noting that attendance has been strong. "But if you have a Canadian (go deep), it just changes the environment." The 30th-seeded Fernandez, who reached the U.S. Open final in 2021, will face 11th-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan on Sunday after a third-round upset win over fifth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva. The charismatic Eala, meanwhile, has supplied major buzz to centre court as she continues her breakout season. A vocal contingent of supporters waving Filipino flags was out in force again Friday night as the 21-year-old from the Philippines reached the Round of 16. Eala will next face 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. Swiatek, the No. 7 seed from Poland, was the first player to secure a quarterfinal berth Saturday with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk. "We fought for every ball," said Swiatek, who converted her sixth match point. "There weren't many free points." She'll next play 15th-seeded Diana Shnaider of Russia, who upset third-seeded American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-3. Another upset followed in the evening as top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus dropped a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 decision to 16th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova. Sabalenka double-faulted on Alexandrova's third match point. Alexandrova, who has split 10 career meetings against the world No. 1, will face ninth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who beat eighth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4 in the evening's late match. Heavy rain was an issue at times over the opening week of the 12-day competition, forcing some postponements and adjusted match times. On Friday, a side court was deemed unplayable after a storm damaged the central pole that kept the net upright. Media presence has also been noticeably thinner than in previous years. Some major outlets in the Ontario capital no longer staff the tournament. Members of the Tennis Canada content team and communications staff have outnumbered working journalists at many player availabilities. In addition, for the second straight year, Canadian rights-holder Sportsnet did not produce matches for the first six days of competition in Toronto or at the men's tournament in Montreal. Domestic English broadcast coverage was selected and produced by the WTA and ATP’s world feed, a Tennis Canada spokesperson said. Sportsnet's production started Saturday. TVA Sports, the French-language rights-holder, has produced coverage of the entire tournament. "We ensured our domestic rights-holders had the option to switch between feeds and courts so that Canadians' matches were prioritized for Canadian fans," the spokesperson said via direct message. "The process also allowed for domestic production and commentary even if the world feed was showing a different match. "We are pleased with the process and the approach taken in collaboration with our rightsholders for the 2026 National Bank Open, and we know our fans are enjoying their coverage of both events." Competition continues through Thursday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2026. Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
