Alex Eala earns first-round bye at WTA1000 National Bank Open in Toronto

Alex Eala will begin her campaign in her next tournament, the WTA 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto, in the second round after earning a first-round bye, another milestone that reflects the Filipina tennis star's continued rise on the global stage.

The National Bank Open will run from August 2 to 13 and is expected to be Eala's second tournament in this year's North American swing after the Mubadala DC Open set this week.

READ MORE | Alex Eala draws Zheng Qinwen in DC Open first-round singles

Eala, currently the world No. 28, is among the tournament's seeded players who received an opening-round bye and will await the winner of the first-round match.

Also among those who earned the bye are world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as well as other top-ranked players in Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, and Jessica Pegula, who won the tournament in 2023 and 2024 before Victoria Mboko ruled it last year.

Mboko, however, won't participate in this year's National Bank Open as she announced her withdrawal due to a knee injury she sustained at the HSBC Championships last month.

Eala will open her Mubadala DC Open run on Tuesday against Zheng Qinwen, who is the reigning Olympic gold medalist and who defeated Eala during the Asian Games semifinals three years ago.

Both the Mubadala DC Open and the National Bank Open are part of Eala's preparations for the US Open set in late August.

Alex Eala's Season recap (singles)

Grass-court swing

• Wimbledon (Grand Slam) — Round of 16
• Bad Homburg Open (WTA 500) — Round of 32
• Berlin Tennis Open (WTA 500) — Semifinals
• HSBC Championships (WTA 500) — Round of 16
• Birmingham Open (WTA 125) — Champion

Clay-court swing

• French Open (Grand Slam) — Round of 128
• Italian Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 32
• Madrid Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 64
• Stuttgart Open (WTA 500) — Round of 32
• Linz Open (WTA 500) — Round of 16

Sunshine Swing

• Miami Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16
• Indian Wells Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 16

Middle East Swing

• Dubai Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) — Quarterfinals
• Qatar Open (WTA 1000) — Round of 64
• Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) — Quarterfinals

Philippine Women’s Open (WTA 125) — Quarterfinals

Australian Swing

• Australian Open (Grand Slam) — Round of 128
• ASB Classic (WTA 250) — Semifinals

—JMB, GMA News