Tempo sign Canadian Kayla Alexander to a second seven-day hardship contract

Washington Mystics' Lauren Betts (51) shoots on Toronto Tempo's Kayla Alexander during second half WNBA basketball action in Toronto on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Kayla Alexander hasn’t had to do this much studying since her days at Syracuse University.

Alexander and the Tempo agreed to a second seven-day hardship contract on Thursday, the same day that she had her first practice with her new teammates even though she has already played two games with Toronto. Alexander said it’s taken a lot of work to get up to speed.

“Just trying to read the playbook as much as possible,” said the 35-year-old centre from Milton, Ont., after practice at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. “Ask your teammates and coaches a lot of questions. Watch as much film as you can, and then just honestly, I’m just trying not to overthink it because I feel like you play your best basketball when you just flow.

“When you’re thinking too much, you tend to not play your best.”

A hardship contract allows a team to temporarily exceed its roster and salary cap limits to sign a replacement player when it has fewer than 10 available players. The Tempo are currently without guard Brittney Sykes (left plantar fascia), forward Kiki Rice (left ankle sprain) and centre Temi Fagbenle (concussion).

Alexander is averaging 1.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.5 blocks in two games with Toronto this season. Drafted eighth overall by the San Antonio Silver Stars (now the Las Vegas Aces) in 2013, she played five seasons in Texas before stops with the Indiana Fever, the Chicago Sky and most recently the Minnesota Lynx in 2020.

“We didn’t have a regulation gym where I practised (in San Antonio). We didn’t get to use actual practice facilities unless it was like game day. We practised in a church,” said Alexander, who played in Europe from 2020 to this year. “What I’m experiencing here now with the Tempo versus my first few years in the league, or the fact that they fly charter, like all the different (physiotherapists), they have multiple, which is just everything.

“I think it’s awesome for the sport, awesome for women’s sport, and I hope it only keeps improving because I feel like we’re being treated like true professionals, which we are.”

Toronto head coach Sandy Brondello, who had only coached against Alexander until last week, was impressed with how quickly the Canadian centre had picked up the Tempo’s systems, even without an actual practice until Thursday.

“Trying to learn a whole system with one day of practice is not easy, but she’s been great,” said Brondello. “She’s experienced, so that helps and she catches on quickly.

“She played some minutes in the last game (a 79-62 loss to the Washington Mystics on Tuesday). We don’t know our post plays in or out, so we’ll have a little bit of security and take us to to the all-star break.”

Toronto hosts WNBA rebounds leader Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream on Friday and then the Aces on Monday. With Fagbenle almost certainly not returning before the all-star break, Alexander will be one of the players tasked with slowing down Reese.

“Oh, that’s not my matchup, luckily,” joked forward Laura Juskaite. “We know she’s taking some shots out of balance, and then she grabs the rebound, so it just stays in front of her and she boxes out because so many times it’s just the second chance points that she gets.

“It’s not from the first shot, so just don’t react to everything else that’s going on around.”

The Tempo also announced on Thursday that their game against the Minnesota Lynx on July 30 at Scotiabank Arena has been moved to an 8 p.m. start time and will be broadcast on Prime Video.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press