In a hard-fought comeback victory, ninth seed Amanda Anisimova bounced back from an early setback to overcome 17th seed Alexandra Eala 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the Cincinnati Open.
Eala struck first, taking advantage of a sharp opening set to claim the lead and put the higher-seeded American on defense. Unfazed, Anisimova calibrated her power from the baseline in the second set, utilizing deep groundstrokes to force crucial errors and level the match.
A Long Fought Set 👏
Alex Eala takes the first set against Anisimova 6-4.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/Vijd6xS033
— wta (@WTA) August 18, 2026
By the deciding third set, Anisimova took complete control of the tempo, breaking Eala’s serve twice to secure her spot in the round of 16. The resilience displayed by the American sets up a high-stakes clash in the next round, where she will take on reigning Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Linda Noskova in a highly anticipated matchup.
Eala vs. Anisimova Full Match highlights;
What’s next for Alex Eala?
Alexandra Eala shifts her focus to the main event of the North American hard-court swing. She is slated to participate in the “Stars of the Open” fan-week exhibition event on August 27 alongside fellow rising talents like Iva Jovic, Learner Tien, and João Fonseca.
From there, Eala heads directly into the US Open main draw, running from August 30 through September 13. Making her second consecutive main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows, the young standout enters the final Grand Slam of the year as a seeded player, capitalized by her top-20 ranking and her recent WTA 500 title victory at the Mubadala DC Open earlier this month.

