Belinda Bencic successfully broke Alexandra Eala’s seven-match winning streak in front of a packed Filipino crowd at the 2026 Canadian Open on Sunday. After defeating the “home favorite”, the Swiss didn’t forget to acknowledge them. The 12th seed outplayed the Filipino star 6-4, 6-0 at Sobeys Stadium and then took a moment to express her appreciation to the fans who had been cheering against her throughout the night.

“I know most of you guys were cheering for Alex, but I still have to say it was very nice for me to play in front of you all. Thank you so much for the great crowd tonight,” Bencic said, before acknowledging the smaller pocket of support she did have. “And thank you to those who were cheering for me as well. It was super nice to play here tonight.” 

That vibe had been growing throughout Eala’s Toronto run. Her first match, against Alycia Parks, was sold out within hours of being scheduled, and she was treated to a sea of Philippine flags and chants of “Laban, Alex!” throughout a three-set victory, which she later described as “very at home” at Sobeys Stadium. 

Things only got bigger from there, with fellow players like Leylah Fernandez, who has a Filipino-Canadian mother, giving her encouragement, as well as tournament directors throughout the tour saying they had noticed Eala’s pull. Although she has been eliminated, Eala looked back on the support she received not just for her performance but for what it meant to her. 

“I am kind of just like a drop in the ocean when it comes to Filipinos and their pride for their culture and where they come from. I do a lot to represent my country, and I’m very proud of it. But the stadium was full of people who do the same thing,” she said. It was one of those energies that still circled the arena when she was leaving the court that Bencic was so direct about afterward.

That graciousness was matched by her performance on court.

Bencic broke serve in the ninth game of the opener to clinch the first set 6-4, and won 72 percent first-serve points in the second set to close out the match in one hour and 13 minutes.

It was Bencic’s 18th career victory at this WTA 1000 venue, the most at any event of the WTA 1000, a streak that began with her breakthrough run here in 2015, when a 18-year-old Bencic defeated Canadian favorite Eugenie Bouchard in her first appearance before going on to knock out three top six players, including world No. 1 Serena Williams, to claim the title outright.

After the victory, the interviewer pointed towards an interesting fact with which the Swiss was also surprised. It was her 10th consecutive victory against a left-handed opponent since 2024, a streak which she can’t really explain as she doesn’t like playing left-handers herself. 

“Honestly, I hate to play against lefties, so I’m surprised by this statistic. It’s obviously very tricky. Maybe it helped me a little bit, I played a lefty the round before against Taylor Townsend, so that was a tough one. I kind of got used to the serve a little bit. But yeah, I mean, I wish I was a lefty too,” she said.

Bencic reflects on motherhood alongside Osaka and Svitolina in the Toronto quarters

The victory also marked Belinda Bencic’s presence in a poignant thread of this year’s edition, as three mothers, including Bencic herself, Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina, advanced to the Toronto quarter-finals in one edition. She’s back in the tournament for the first time since giving birth, and the Swiss player was grateful for her daughter being present there. 

“It’s super special, and I’m really happy for all of the moms that do really well. And obviously I think we take inspiration from each other. But you know, at the end of the day on the court, we don’t really think about that. We’re still athletes trying to do our best. So it’s always super nice to create memories with the family on the tour, but on the court, I try to just play tennis,” she said.

Now she heads to a quarterfinal showdown with Coco Gauff, the fourth seed who downed Bencic in three sets at Wimbledon earlier this year. Even though the outcome hasn’t been in her favor, Bencic is honest about how close their meetings have been in recent times.

“She’s someone that always puts herself in the position to win the quarter-finals and later on in the tournament, so she’s a great champion and she’s very tricky to play against. I feel like I came close so many times but always lost in the third set, but it’s really challenging to play against her. I’m excited to try again and try maybe a little bit different or just challenge her again,” she said. 

The meeting will be Bencic’s second WTA 1000 quarter-final of the season, following a Miami defeat by Gauff, giving Tuesday’s duel a bonus as the former world No.4 seeks her first win in the last five encounters.