Get to Know Alina Korneeva During Her WTA 1000… National Bank Open

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Alina Korneeva’s run at the 2026 National Bank Open presented by Rogers may seem like a surprise, but her breakthrough was just a matter of time.

The teenager qualified for her first Grand Slam at 16 years old at the 2024 Australian Open, in what was only her second WTA Tour main draw. Korneeva went on to win her debut match against world No. 52 Sara Sorribes Tormo before losing in round two. By the end of 2025, the 19-year-old had made six tour-level appearances.

This year has undoubtedly been Korneeva’s best season, though. The teen started 2026 ranked outside the Top 200, but cracked the Top 150 within a month thanks to titles at the W75 in Manama, Bahrain and the WTA 125 in Oeiras.

Korneeva qualified for her first WTA 1000 main draw in Rome last May then, that same month, the 19-year-old was back in a Slam main draw after qualifying for Roland-Garros. She soon added yet another major match win to her resumé following her straight-sets victory against world No. 38 Elisabetta Cocciaretto in round one.

The summer swing didn’t put a dent in Korneeva’s rise. The world No. 89 made it back-to-back Grand Slam main draws as she went perfect through Wimbledon qualifying. The week following The Championships, Korneeva notched two more Top 50 wins en route to her first WTA semifinal in Athens.

Then, she arrived in Toronto. The 19-year-old’s lone qualifying match wasn’t easy, needing to come back from a set down just to make her second-career WTA 1000 main draw.

Korneeva won her first-round contest without needing a match point as Polina Kudermetova retired, setting the way for two of the biggest victories of her young career. The teen defeated world No. 28 Emma Navarro in round two, only to better that result with a 6-3, 6-4 win over world No. 16 Iva Jovic to reach the last 16.

Korneeva’s ability to compete on tour so early partially stems from her success in juniors, reaching No. 1 in the junior rankings and winning two Grand Slams – once beating Mirra Andreeva in the 2024 Australian Open final.

“If I'm going to advise young players, if you need to play juniors, I would say for sure because you play a lot of matches,” Korneeva said in a press conference on Aug. 7 in Toronto. “In my career, I could win a lot of matches, and it was giving me confidence. It gave me more confidence when I moved to the professional tour. When I was playing like ITF 75 or 100K, it was giving me this confidence that I played good in juniors and now in pro.”

However, the differences between the junior and professional game are very evident in Korneeva’s eyes. The world No. 89 is not even two full years into her WTA career and still has a lot more to show despite making her first 1000-level fourth round.

“In juniors, it could happen that you win a tough game and then the opponent gives you presents. Now, I feel like, as I play against top players, I have to be into the match every single point,” Korneeva said. “I have to be in full focus. I think the main goal for me now is to play the whole match without ups and downs.”

Korneeva can certainly put that to practice as she gets set to play the highest-ranked opponent of her career so far – world No. 4 Coco Gauff on Sunday for her first match on Centre Court.

The WTA's best return to Toronto for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at Sobeys Stadium. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo : Mark Blinch/Wick Photography for National Bank Open