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The Philippine tornado didn't take long to cross the border. Forty-eight hours after lifting the first WTA trophy of her career in Washington, Alexandra Eala is already in Toronto, where the cream of world tennis awaits her for the second round of the National Bank Open. The 21-year-old left-hander, who toppled Jessica Pegula in the final on Sunday, benefits from a first-round bye and gets straight into the thick of things this Wednesday.
The Toronto Centre court won't be idle. Elena Rybakina, second seed and recent Wimbledon finalist, will make her tournament debut there. Coco Gauff, world number four, will also launch her Canadian campaign. Two clients the Philippine gem could meet on her path as early as the quarterfinals, if the ranking logic is respected.
Elena Rybakina, second seed and recent Wimbledon finalist, will make her tournament debut there.
The Washington effect
Eala's triumph in the American capital is no accident. The young woman, trained at the Rafael Nadal academy, has strung together seven wins against Top 10 members this season. A total only Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina match on the tour. Her final against Pegula, wrapped up in three sets after conceding the first, confirmed a quality that has become her trademark: the ability to raise her level when the match turns.
The Philippine public, for its part, is living a dream. No player from the country had previously won a WTA title. The front pages of Manila dailies, congratulatory messages from political leaders, and the explosion of Google searches on tennis in the Philippines tell the scale of the phenomenon. Toronto, which hosts one of the largest Philippine diasporas in North America, could well become an annex of the Manila Centre.
A tricky draw
Behind the headliners, the second round offers several matches to watch. Naomi Osaka, eleventh seed, has already punched her ticket to the round of 16 by dominating Tatjana Maria via retirement. The Japanese player, finalist in Montreal last year, is building momentum on this North American swing.
Jessica Pegula, for her part, will be eager to erase her loss in the Washington final. The American, world number three, returns to Canadian hard courts with still fragile bearings after a preparation disrupted by personal obligations. On Court number two, Leylah Fernandez will carry Canadian hopes in a draw where Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one, looms as the favorite, even if the Belarusian won't play until the following days.
The organizers had to make agonizing choices: the Court two schedule brings together three Grand Slam champions and a former world number three, a rare configuration for a WTA 1000 second round.
A window into the TOP 20
With her final in Washington, Eala has already mathematically secured her entry into the world Top 20 for the first time in her career. A symbolic milestone that changes her status in the locker room and could earn her a seed at the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the season, in less than three weeks. While waiting for Flushing Meadows, it's in Toronto that the Filipina continues to write a story that already far transcends the borders of tennis.