With the Canadian content done, for now, we move to another 1000-level event in Cincinnati.

Gabriel Diallo, injured in Montreal, is a no for the qualifying.

As for Félix Auger-Aliassime, who withdrew from Montreal with a back issue before it started, he’ll be the No. 2 seed again (if he’s good to go) in the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz.

Bianca Andreescu has a wild card into the qualifying on the women’s side.

And Leylah Fernandez is playing doubles with … Sara Errani11

(Not complete)

*********************************************

Cincinnati Open
Mason, Ohio (ATP 1000/WTA 1000)

Men’s singles

[2] Félix Auger-Aliassime
1st rd: Bye
2nd rd: vs. TBA

Alejandro Tabilo (CHI)
1st rd: Bye
2nd rd: vs. TBA

Denis Shapovalov
1st rd: vs. TBA

Women’s singles

Leylah Fernandez
1st rd: vs. TBA

Women’s doubles

Gabriela Dabrowski / Luisa Stefani (BRA)
1st rd: vs. TBA

Leylah Fernandez / Sara Errani
1st rd: vs. TBA

Erin Routliffe (NZL) / Aldila Sutjiadi (INA)
1st rd: vs. TBA

Women’s singles qualifying

[PR] Rebecca Marino
1st rd: vs. TBA

[WC] Bianca Andreescu
1st rd: vs. TBA

*********************************************

Fale Loki Koki Cup Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz, Poland (ITF $30K)

Singles qualifying

Keira Blackbeard
1st rd: lost to Viktorie Hazmukova (CZE) 67 (5) 64 [10-5]

*********************************************

Capital City Tennis Classic
East Lansing, Michigan (ITF $30K) 

Singles 

Benjamin Thomas George
1st rd: vs TBA

Doubles

[3] Joshua Peck / Logan Zapp (USA)
1st rd: vs TBA

Singles qualifying

[9] Joshua Peck
1st rd: vs. Cameron Muller (USA)

Alexander Mitric
1st rd: vs. [11] Nikita Filin (USA)

Andrei Caragea
1st rd: vs. [7] Marko Mesarovic (USA)

*********************************************

*********************************************

Yokohama Legia Warsaw Open
Warsaw, Poland (ITF $15K)

Singles  

[3] Filip Peliwo (POL)
1st rd: vs TBA

*********************************************

2006 Ma’anshan Open
Ma’anshan, China (ITF $15K)

Singles qualifying

Alvin Thomas Tudorica
1st rd: vs TBA

*********************************************

M15 Targu Jiu
Targu Jiu, Romania (ITF $15K)

Singles qualifying

[11] Alexandru Toubi Hebhang Balan
1st rd: def [WC] Vlad Andrei Claudiu Moroi (ROU) 46 64 [10-3]
2nd rd: vs. Charlie Bazil (SUI)

*********************************************

W15 Bucharest
Bucharest, Romania (ITF $15K) 

 
Singles qualifying

Kayla Lorrimer
1st rd: def Ana Cristiana Mocanu (ROU) 61 60
2nd rd: vs. [1] Rachel Gailis (USA)

*********************************************

M15 Tianjin
Tianjin, China (ITF $15K)

Singles qualifying

[15] Stéphane Pierre-Jo Kamendje 
1st rd: lost to Li Wenze (CHN) 60 26 [10-4]

*********************************************

It’s only Monday. But just THREE matches on the sked in Toronto.

One of them doubles on the second court.

And no day session.

That’s just one casualty of having the men and women at different venues for an expanded-format Masters 1000.

It’s already not great those last days when the two are together.

(Toronto is on EDT)

************************************

National Bank Open
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Surface: Hard
Category: WTA 1000 (Joint event with the ATP Tour)
Dates: Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize money: $7,433,076
Draws: S96 – D32

Monday, Aug. 10, 2026
Order of play

–

Centre Court (7 p.m. start)

1. [7] Iga Swiatek (POL) vs. [15] Diana Shnaider (RUS)

2. [9] Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs. [16] Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)

–

Grandstand (5 p.m.)

[1] Katerina Siniakova (CZE) / Zhang Shuai (HN) vs. Storm Hunter (AUS) / Desirae Krawczyk (USA)

 – 

–

********************************* 

Not much action for a Monday – no day session, and just two singles matches.

The surprise pickup Canadian doubles team of Alexis Galarneau and Duncan Chan get the stadium for an early match at 4 p.m.

Galarneau was to play with Denis Shapovalov. But he withdrew after retiring in singles. And since the draw hadn’t been made they were able to substitute.

Arthur Fils v Rafael Jodar will, hopefully, be box office.

(Montreal is on EDT).

********************************* 

National Bank Open 
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Category: ATP 1000 (Joint event with the WTA Tour)
Surface: Hard
Dates:  Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize Money: $9,415,724
Draws: S96 – D32

Monday, Aug. 10, 2026
Order of play

–

Center Court (4 p.m. start)

1. [3] Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) / Mate Pavic (CRO) vs. [WC] Duncan Chan / Alexis Galarneau (CAN)

2. [18] Arthur Fils (FRA) vs. [20] Rafael Jodar (ESP) H2H (not before 6 p.m.)

3. [19] Luciano Darderi  (ITA) vs. [28] Brandon Nakashima (USA) H2H

–

Rogers Court

1. Théo Arribage / Albano Olivetti (FRA) vs. Fabian Maroszan (HUN) / Daniil Medvedev (RUS)

2. [1] Harri Heliovaara (FIN) / Henry Patten (GBR) vs. Francisco Cerundolo / Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG)

3. [7] Guido Andreozzi (ARG) / Manuel Guinard (FRA) vs. Orlando Luz / Rafael Matos (BRA) 

–

********************************* 

A lot of players missing. But you can’t ask for much more than a Joao Fonseca vs. Ben Shelton clash in a night session.

Two young guys still on the rise, when plenty of energy and power. It didn’t quite measure up; the air sort of was taken out of it when Fonseca appeared to tweak his ankle/foot, up a break in the second set.

But don’t forget about Learner Tien, who is into the quarterfinals.

(Montreal is on EDT).

********************************* 

National Bank Open 
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Category: ATP 1000 (Joint event with the WTA Tour)
Surface: Hard
Dates:  Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize Money: $9,415,724
Draws: S96 – D32

Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026
Final results

–

Singles, fourth round

[5] Ben Shelton (USA) def. [22] Joao Fonseca (BRA) 63 76 (3)

[12] Learner Tien (USA) def. Thiago Agustin Tirante (ARG) 64 64

[13] Jakub Mensik (CZE) def. Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED) 64 75

–

Daniel Merida (ESP) def. Tallon Griekspoor (NED) 63 61

–

–

Doubles, second round

[3] Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) / Mate Pavic (CRO) def. Adam Pavlasek / Patrik Rikl (CZE) 76 (6) 62

–

Théo Arribage / Albano Olivetti (FRA) def. [PR] Yuki Bhambri (IND) / Michael Venus (NZL) 76 (5) 57 [11-9]

–

********************************* 

You know the organizers would have preferred that Canadian Leylah Fernandez and Filipino sensation Alexandra Eala were in opposite halves of the draw.

That way they could have featured one of them every night. As it is, though, they were both featured in the night session for the second time in the tournament.

Both had big challenges. Neither could come through.

So did Elena Rybakina, who did manage to squeeze past Ekaterina Alexandrova with a flurry at the end.

(Toronto is on EDT)

************************************

National Bank Open
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Surface: Hard
Category: WTA 1000 (Joint event with the ATP Tour)
Dates: Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize money: $7,433,076
Draws: S96 – D32

Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026
Final results

–

Singles, fourth round

[1] Naomi Osaka (JPN) def. [30] Leylah Fernandez (CAN) 64 64 

–

[2] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) def. Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 64 46 64

[4] Coco Gauff (USA) def. [Q] Alina Korneeva (RUS) 63 61

[12] Belinda Bencic (SUI) def [25] Alexandra Eala (PHI) 64 60

–

–

Doubles, quarterfinals

[3] Sara Errani (ITA) / Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) def. [7] Ellen Perez (AUS) / Demi Schuurs (NED) 62 62

[5] Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) / Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) def Ann Li (USA) / Clara Tauson (DEN) 76 (4) 64

–

–

Doubles, second round

Tereza Mihalikova (SVK) / Olivia Nicholls (GBR) def. Erin Routliffe (NZL) / Aldila Sutjiadi (INA) 63 75

–

– 

–

********************************* 

There is still nearly a week to go in the tournament. But there were only four singles matches. And none of them anywhere but the stadium court.

That’s the lot of these expanded draws. In two different cities. And it’s not ideal.

That said, all eight seeds in this top half of the draw made the date for the third round.

And the match between Swiatek and Kostyuk tells you how it gets a little more dicey when your ranking drops a bit. When you’re the No. 7, you’re not going to get one of the lower seeds in this round. So Swiatek has a challenge on her hands.

But Sabalenka is out.

(Toronto is on EDT)

************************************

National Bank Open
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Surface: Hard
Category: WTA 1000 (Joint event with the ATP Tour)
Dates: Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize money: $7,433,076
Draws: S96 – D32

Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026
Final results–

Singles, fourth round

[16] Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) def [1] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 76 (3) 46 64

[15] Diana Shnaider (RUS) def [3] Jessica Pegula (USA) 63 63

[9] Elina Svitolina (UKR) def. [8] Amanda Anisimova (USA) 62 64

–

[7] Iga Swiatek (POL) def. [10] Marta Kostyuk (UKR) 36 61 62

–

–

–

Doubles, second round

[1] Katerina Siniakova (CZE) / Zhang Shuai (CHN) def Coco Gauff / Caty McNally (USA) 60 64

[3] Sara Errani (ITA) / Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) def. Miyu Kato (JPN) / Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 62 62

[5] Hsieh Su-Wek (TPE) / Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) def. Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Quinn Gleason (USA) 64 76 (1)

[6] Elise Mertens (BEL) / Diana Shnaider (RUS) def Jiang Xinyu / Fang-Hsien Wu (TPE) 63 63 

[7] Ellen Perez (AUS) / Demi Schuurs (NED) def Asia Muhammad (USA) / Fanny Stollar (HUN) 64 62

–

Ann Li (USA) / Clara Tauson (DEN) def. Ingrid Neel (EST) / Giuliana Olmos (MEX) 46 76 (3) [11-9]

Storm Hunter (AUS) / Desirae Krawczyk (USA) def. Hao-Ching Chan (TPE) / Maya Joint (AUS) 62 62

–

********************************* 

IIt’s the third round. And only one seed inside the top 18.

But even outside that, two rising stars in Rafael Jodar and Arthur Fils. And both prevailed.

This is the bottom half of the draw, where Félix Auger-Aliassime laid claim to the bottom slot before his unfortunate withdrawal.

(Montreal is on EDT).

********************************* 

National Bank Open 
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Category: ATP 1000 (Joint event with the WTA Tour)
Surface: Hard
Dates:  Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize Money: $9,415,724
Draws: S96 – D32

Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026
Final results

–

Singles, fourth round

–

[20] Rafael Jodar (ESP) def [8] Jiri Lehecka (CZE) 63 63

[28] Brandon Nakashima (USA) def [22] Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) 76 (4) 57 75

 –

[18] Arthur Fils (FRA) def. Cameron Norrie (GBR) 62 76 (8)

[19] Luciano Darderi (ITA) def Nuno Borges (POR) 46 63 75

–

–

Singles, second round

[WC] Duncan Chan / Alexis Galarneau (CAN) def [8] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) / Kevin Krawietz (GER) 76 (5) 76 (3)

Francisco Cerundolo / Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) def. Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) / Luciano Darderi (ITA) WALKOVER

–

[1] Harri Heliovaara (FIN) / Henry Patten (GBR) def Andre Goransson (SWE) / Casper Ruud (NOR) 64 76 (6)

[7] Guido Andreozzi (ARG) / Manuel Guinard (FRA) def Matteo Arnaldi / Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) 63 64

–

Fabian Maroszan (HUN) / Daniil Medvedev (RUS) def Hugo Nys (MON) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 76 (5) 64

Orlando Luz / Rafael Matos (BRA) def Francisco Cabral (POR) / J.J. Tracy (USA) 67 (8) 63 [13-11]

–

–

Doubles, first round

Théo Arribage / Albano Olivetti (FRA) def Julian Schnaiter / Mark Wallner (GER) 63 67 (5) [10-7]

Adam Pavlasek / Patrik Rikl (CZE) def Sadio Doumbia / Fabien Reboul (FRA) [ALT] Yannick Hanfmann / Jan-Leonard Struff (GER) 61 64

–

–

********************************* 

If the pickings are a little slim with all the losses, there is still Joao Fonseca on the stadium court on Friday.

And a good all-American matchup between Learner Tien and newlywed Tommy Paul.

Shelton v Bergs during the day session.

Auger-Aliassime/Diallo and Michelsen/Tien both withdrew from the doubles draw before their first matches.

(Montreal is on EDT).

********************************* 

National Bank Open 
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Category: ATP 1000 (Joint event with the WTA Tour)
Surface: Hard
Dates:  Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize Money: $9,415,724
Draws: S96 – D32

Friday, Aug. 7, 2026
Final results

–

Singles, third round

–

Upsets

[22] Joao Fonseca (BRA) def [9] Casper Ruud (NOR) 76 (6) 63

Tallon Griekspoor (NED) def [30] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 36 64 63

–

Seeds advancing

[5] Ben Shelton (USA) def. [31] Zizou Bergs (BEL) 63 62

[12] Learner Tien (USA) def. [17] Tommy Paul  (USA) 63 62

[13] Jakub Mensik (CZE) def. Térence Atmane (FRA) 75 64

–

Other results

Daniel Merida (ESP) def Alex Michelsen (USA) 64 67 (4) 61

Thiago Agustin Tirante (ARG) def [Q] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 63 64

Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) def. [PR] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 36 76 (4) 75 

—

Doubles, first round

–

Luciano Darderi (ITA) / Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) def Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) / Valentin Vacherot (MON) 64 75

–

Hugo Nys (MON) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) def [2] Marcel Granollers (ESP) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) 64 36 [10-7] 

Orlando Luz / Rafael Matos (BRA) def [4] Simone Bolelli / Andrea Vavassori (ITA) 64 64

[PR] Yuki Bhambri (IND) / Michael Venus (NZL) def [5] Christian Harrison (USA) / Neal Skupski (GBR) 67 (9) 64 [10-8]

–

[3] Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) / Mate Pavic (CRO) def. [ALT] Brandon Nakashima / Robert Cash (USA) [ALT2 Robert Galloway / Evan King (USA) 63 64

[8] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) / Kevin Krawietz (GER) def. [ALT] Zizou Bergs / Alexander Blockx (BEL) 63 61

–

Matteo Arnaldi / Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) def Karen Khachanov / Andrey Rublev (RUS) 61 36 [10-6]

–

********************************* 

The last Canadian standing has a tall order Friday in that she has to meet the Roland Garros champion.

Leylah Fernandez gets the day session vs. the Russian.

Meanwhile, Filipino Alexandra Eala gets another night session that should be another big seller.

She faces the talented and versatile American Caty McNally.

(Toronto is on EDT)

************************************

National Bank Open
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Surface: Hard
Category: WTA 1000 (Joint event with the ATP Tour)
Dates: Aug. 2 – 13, 2026
Prize money: $7,433,076
Draws: S96 – D32

Friday, Aug. 7, 2026
Final results

–

Singles, third round

–

[30] Leylah Fernandez (CAN) def [5] Mirra Andreeva (RUS) 61 64

–

[Q] Alina Korneeva (RUS) def [13] Iva Jovic (USA) 63 64

–

[2] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) def. [28] Ann Li (USA) 62 75

[4] Coco Gauff (USA) def [29] Maria Sakkari (GRE) 61 64

[11] Naomi Osaka (JPN) def [20] Elise Mertens (BEL) 61 62

[12] Belinda Bencic (SUI) def Taylor Townsend (USA) 67 (5) 76 (4) 64

[25] Alexandra Eala (PHI) def. Caty McNally (USA) 63 57 64

–

Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) def [Q] Maya Joint (AUS) 75 67 (3) 62 

–

–

Doubles, first round

–

Erin Routliffe (NZL) / Aldila Sutiadi (INA) def [4] Guo Hanyu (CHN) / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 63 67 (4) [10-5]

Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Quinn Gleason (USA) def [WC] Bianca Andreescu / Kayla Cross (CAN) 64 76 (3)

–

Ingrid Neel (EST) / Giuliana Olmos (MEX) def [2] Anna Danilina (KAZ) / Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) 64 75

–

[1] Katerina Siniakova (CZE) / Zhang Shuai (CHN) def Mirra Andreeva (RUS) / Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 62 62

[3] Sara Errani (ITA) / Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) def McCartney Kessler / Jessica Pegula (USA) 62 36 [10-8]

–

Tereza Mihalikova (SVK) / Olivia Nicholls (GBR) def. Cristina Bucsa (ESP) / Eudice Chong (HKG) 46 75 [11-9]

Asia Muhammad (USA) / Fanny Stollar (HUN) def Tang Qianhui / Xu Yifan (CHN) 46 63 [10-7]

–

********************************* 

The evening session at the National Bank Open in Toronto sold out in half an hour, once it was announced that Alexandra Eala would be playing.

(And, mind you, Canadian Leylah Fernandez is featuring as well).

That’s where it’s at with the sensation that is the 21-year-old Filipino player. And we’re not being overdramatic when we use that word.

There are plenty of online fans who rip Eala for all the attention she gets. Yes, she gets more than many players who are more accomplished. But this is … not her fault.

The reality is that there are large Filipino communities all over the world. And they will show up to support their own.

In D.C. last week, the vast majority of the late ticket requests came from Filipino fans. And guess what? Eala ended up winning her first WTA Tour title. Along the way, she defeated Zheng Qinwen, Fernandez, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula in a two-day final.

She wasn’t gifted that. She earned it.

There are about 46,000 Filipino immigrants in the greater D.C. area, including Maryland and Virginia. It’s nothing like the half-million or more in Los Angeles, and the 350,000 in San Francisco. But they came out.

Huge population in Toronto

The Toronto area has well more than 200,000 Filipino immigrants and probably about that many who might be second generation.. And a chunk of them live in North York, which is where the National Bank Open is located.

So the support is real.

The tournament even added a Filipino chicken dish to its offerings for the occasion Wednesday night.

And they even asked any volunteers who hadn’t already distributed their allotment of tickets to return them. Such was the demand (whether that was a nice move could certainly be debated).

A last-minute teamup with Venus Williams in doubles (that was supposed to happen in Washington, but didn’t) led to the unusual move of putting a first-round doubles match on the stadium court, featured in the night session Thursday.

it’s a … lot for an inexperienced 21-year-old to handle. At the moment, she’s handling it all with poise and aplomb. But she’s still in the stage of her career where from a tennis point of view, there’s not much pressure to post results or defend results. Whatever she does, this massive fan base is thrilled.

Flash back six months to the AO

Eala faces the powerful American Alycia Parks in tonight’s match.

And it was barely more than six months ago when they met in the first round of the Australian Open.

Eala had just entered the top 50 with a run to the semifinals in Auckland. Parks, whose ranking is up and down, checked in at No. 99.

So for Eala, it was just about the lowest-ranked player she might run into in the first round.

The Filipino population in the Melbourne area is about 60,000, more than two-third of whom are Australian citizens.

So there was definitely demand. But a match between unseeded players didn’t rate a bigger court; at least that’s what the tournament decided.

They put them on Court 6. That’s a small court, but one set up right next to a huge bar. So the atmosphere is often raucous even without Eala’s presence. But there are fewer than 1,500 seats there.

It was packed. And there were people on a walkway above the back of the court and everywhere it was possible to fit a body.

And Eala bageled Parks in the first round, to the enthousiastic applause of her countrymen and women.

But then, it sort of went sideways. Parks ended up winning it 0-6, 6-3, 6-2. She handled the somewhat adversarial crowd beautifully, buoyed by a box of supporters that included the American player Sachia Vickery.

Here’s what it looked like.

When Parks came out with partner Ingrid Gamarra Martins to play Shuko Aoyama and Magda Linette in the first round of doubles, they were given court 14.

Only a few hundred fans can fit there, with one side only having a few rows and some space for standing room.

They had that part roped off with security. But in the end it wasn’t that necessary.

They went out in three sets.

Six months later, the mania is real.

And Eala is now a title holder. And a top-20 player.

sAnd the exponentially large potential fan base for here in Toronto should make her a fan favorite there for years to come. Every two years, of course.

In Montreal, there are about 40,000 Filipinos. Which is still enough to pack the place when she plays.