Why is Alex Eala's game schedule so packed?
This season, World No. 20 Alex Eala has been shuttling from match to match, tournament to tournament, often with just one or two days of rest in between.
Her schedule in the 2026 Canadian Open clearly illustrates this.
On Aug. 6 (Philippine time), Eala suited up against Alycia Parks, defeating her with 6–1, 4–6, 6–2. The next day, the Filipina partnered up with tennis legend Venus Williams for their doubles match against Liudmila Samsonova and Miyu Kato, who defeated Eala and Williams in straight sets 4–6, 3–6. On Aug. 8, Eala was back on the court for her Round of 32 match against Caty McNally, which Eala won again 6–3, 5–7, 6–4. Eala bowed out of the tournament in the Round of 16 on Aug. 10, with 4–6, 0–6 against Belinda Bencic.
Eala is next expected to be at the Cincinnati Open, which is another WTA 1000 event. The tournament proper will run from Aug. 13 to 23.
Is she really expected to play matches so close to each other?
According to her uncle Noli Eala, she is contractually obligated to do so.
In a post on X, Eala's uncle explained, "Many are concerned about Alex’s schedule, playing big tour events week after week. Fortunately or unfortunately, as a top-tier player, Alex is mandated by WTA rules to play all WTA 1000 tournaments plus all Slams in order to total at least 18-20 tournaments per season. So Canada and Cincinnati are must-play as well as Beijing and Wuhan Open in addition to some WTA 500s."
"And this does not even account her desire to play for the (Philippine) National Team," he added. "The price of success."
Per the 2026 WTA rulebook, all WTA players are committed to playing WTA 1000 and 500 tournaments, unless they qualify for a leave due to a long-term injury, in which case the required number of tournaments is adjusted.
All WTA players who qualify for acceptance into the main draw of a WTA 1000 tournament will automatically be obligated to play. If a player 18 years old or older chooses not to play a WTA 1000 or WTA 500 tournament for which she qualifies, she will automatically receive zero ranking points, per the rulebook.
By the end of her run at the Canadian Open, Eala had played 45 matches across 18 WTA-level and Grand Slam tournaments in 2026 alone. She earned her first WTA title at the Mubadala DC Open in early August.
