Alex Eala draws huge Canadian Open support in payback bid vs Alycia Parks

PEOPLE'S CHAMP. Alex Eala interacts with fans before opening her campaign in the 2026 Canadian Open. National Bank Open Instagram page Alex Eala benefits from a huge crowd rallying behind her as she begins her campaign in the Canadian Open against American Alycia Parks MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala has been on a revenge tour, avenging losses to the last six opponents who had previously beaten her. And she hopes to keep that streak running as Eala opens her campaign in the Canadian Open in Toronto against Alycia Parks of the United States in the round of 64 on Wednesday, August 5 (Thursday, August 6, Manila time). Parks stunned Eala in their first and only previous meeting, coming back from a first-set demolition to hack out a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 win in their opening-round clash in the Australian Open in January. But all signs point to Eala getting payback on Parks as the Filipina plays her best tennis of the year, having won a breakthrough WTA Tour title in the Washington Open. Eala captured the WTA 500 crown by overcoming a brutal draw that saw her beat top seed and world No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States in the final, third seed and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan in the semifinals, second seed and world No. 10 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the quarterfinals, defending champion Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the round of 16, and reigning Olympic and Asian Games champion Zheng Qinwen of China in the round of 32. She is also fresh from a historic run to the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships, where she toppled defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, Maya Joint of Australia, and Renata Zarazua of Mexico. Eala fell to Pegula, Fernandez, Zheng, Swiatek, Joint, and Zarazua in their previous encounters, but she turned the tables on each of them with one impressive win after another. While Eala has been in fine form, she also benefits from a huge crowd rallying behind her as tickets for her match against Parks sold out in 30 minutes. The demand to watch Eala has been so overwhelming that tournament organizers moved her match from the Grandstand to the bigger Centre Court of the Sobeys Stadium. In fact, Eala will take on Parks after home favorite Fernandez faces Zarazua in the evening session. “Our Grandstand court is 2,800 seats. We can’t put her on there because she probably sold upwards of 5,000 tickets,” tournament director Karl Hale told the Tennis Channel. Eala, who climbed to a new career-high No. 20 ranking, earned a first-round bye in the WTA 1000 tournament as the 25th seed. If she gets past Parks, Eala will tangle with the winner between Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova and the USA’s Caty McNally in the round of 32. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading