Alexandra Eala gave her passionate supporters at the Canadian Open a major scare when she took a medical timeout to treat her ankle during her third-round match. However, the Filipina overcame the hiccup to secure a hard-fought victory and later shared a crucial update on her injury.
What Alexandra Eala Said About Her Injury After Medical Timeout at the Canadian Open
Fresh off winning her maiden tour-level title at the Mubadala DC Open, No. 25 seed Eala has carried her momentum into the WTA 1000 event in Toronto. Following a first-round bye, she claimed a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win over Alycia Parks in her opening match.
The 21-year-old made another strong start during her third-round clash against Caty McNally, clinching the opening set 6-3. However, she suffered a setback early in the second set when she landed awkwardly and rolled her right ankle.
she definitely rolled her ankle here pic.twitter.com/lFm3h7VbSa
— marvièn (@mvn_dn) August 8, 2026
While leading 3-2, Eala called for a medical timeout and received treatment, with the physiotherapist bandaging her injured foot.
Alexandra Eala takes a medical timeout to get her foot wrapped. #NBO26 pic.twitter.com/RES41iJmM4
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 8, 2026
After play resumed, McNally raised her level to win the second set and force a decider. However, Eala battled back strongly in the third set, securing an early break and eventually claiming a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory after a two-hour, 39-minute battle.
During her post-match press conference, Eala provided a positive update regarding her physical condition, revealing that there were “no serious problems” to be concerned about.
“Yeah, I kind of rolled my ankle in that second set. Like, I hit the forehand and I landed kind of wrong. I called the physio. I think I was a little, I was like, Oh, I don’t know what happened, because it happened so fast. But luckily there’s nothing wrong with it, and it was no serious problems,” Eala said.
The Filipina spoke about how the match had tested her physically but welcomed the challenge as a valuable learning experience. She also put faith in her team’s ability to help her recover properly and remained optimistic about her chances for the rest of the tournament.
“Today was physically, it pushed me a lot. I have a lot of matches in the bag. But that goes for good and bad. I think this is also a learning process. We’re athletes. So that kind of physical is, you know, it’s like a huge part of our job. I have a great team who is going to help me recover, and I have high hopes for the rest of the tournament,” she added.
Taking on No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic in the fourth round of the Canadian Open, Alexandra Eala revealed that she is “super excited” to meet in their first tour-level encounter. If Eala triumphs in the blockbuster showdown, she will face the winner of the match between No. 4 seed Coco Gauff and qualifier Alina Korneeva in the quarterfinals.
