Alex Eala plays Linette or Ruse to open Cincinnati after bye

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines returns a shot to Caty McNally of the United States during day six of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 07, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala will face either a familiar foe in Poland’s Magda Linette or Romania’s Elena Gabriela-Ruse to begin her campaign in the second round of the Cincinnati Open in Mason, Ohio.

Eala drew a first-round bye as the 17th seed of the WTA 1000 hardcourt tournament.

The 21-year-old Eala, who is coming off a round of 16 exit at the Canadian Open, split her previous four head-to-head matchups with the world number 68 Linette.

Eala has won two in a row against Linette this season after winning their meetings in the ASB Classic and Miami Open. Linette beat the Filipino star twice last year in the Abu Dhabi Open and Nottingham Open.

On the other hand, Eala has only faced the World No. 77 Ruse, who eked out a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over the Washington Open champion in the US Open qualifiers two years ago.

The first-round match between Linette and Ruse is on Thursday (Manila time).

Regardless of her opponent, Eala is tipped to advance to the third round, where she is projected to play ninth seed Amanda Anisimova if both favorites handle business.

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Anisimova faces the winner between Eala’s close friend Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye and Daria Kasatkina of Australia in the second round.

Eala is making her Cincinnati debut after withdrawing from the event last year due to a shoulder injury.

The Rafa Nadal Academy graduate enters the Cincinnati Open having won seven of her last eight matches. Her career-best seven-match winning streak was snapped by Swiss ace Belinda Bencic on Monday in Toronto.

Eala won her first WTA Tour title last August 3, outlasting World No.3 Jessica Pegula in the Mubadala DC Open final.