Eala, Fernandez Join Favourites in Round Three; Noskova Stunned

The day session featured a pair of Grand Slam champions, while the top Canadian and one of the WTA's most popular young stars shone under the lights at night.

CENTRE COURT - starts at 12:30 PM

• [2] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) d. Daria Kasatkina (AUS) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
  • Rybakina looked well on her way to a routine victory when she took the first set needing just one break, then broke to start the second. But the Kazakhstani's mighty serve started to misfire in the second and she let Kasatkina back in it before dropping her serve in the final game to send the match to a decider. The second seed broke early again in the third and, despite continued inconsistency on her delivery and having to save five break points in her last two service games, she found a way to grind out the win.
• [4] Coco Gauff (USA) d. [Q] Kayla Day (USA) 6-2, 7-5 
  • Apart from a blip at the end of the second set, Gauff mostly cruised through her opening match. She broke three times in the opener, although she did drop serve once, and was a point away from victory on her own serve at 5-4 in the second. However, that game got away from her and Day ended up drawing level at five. Still, Gauff was not to be denied, breaking to wrap up the win in the 12th game.

Not before 7:00 PM 

• [30] Leylah Annie Fernandez (CAN) d. Renata Zarazua (MEX) 6-2, 6-2
  • Fernandez dominated this one start to finish in front of the home crowd. She never trailed on the scoreboard, only dropping serve once (when she was already up a break) while breaking her opponent five times. READ MORE
• [25] Alexandra Eala (PHI) d. Alycia Parks (USA) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
  • Bolstered by a raucous crowd full of Filipino fans, Eala roared out of the gate in her Toronto debut, breaking the mighty Parks serve twice in a speedy first set. But the American picked up her game in the second while Eala's level dipped. They matched each other shot-for-shot until the 10th game, when the Filipina played her worst service game of the match to gift Parks a break to love and send the match to a decider. Eala reset and broke to start the third and even though Parks eventually broke back to get to 2-all, that was the last time it was close. Eala won the last four games in a row, breaking twice, to escape with the win.

GRANDSTAND - starts at 11:00 AM

• [28] Ann Li (USA) d. [WC] Kayla Cross (CAN) 7-6(2), 6-3
  • Cross showed resolve, rallying from a break down in both sets including breaking Li when the American served for the first set, but could not get the job done at the business end of each. READ MORE
• [3] Jessica Pegula (USA) vs Magdalena Frech (POL) 
  • It took some time for the two-time NBO champion to find her rhythm, but once she did, she cruised. Pegula was broken in her opening service game and then was immediately broken again after breaking back as she dropped the first set. She turned things around in the second, breaking for a 2-0 lead and immediately reclaiming the edge when Frech broke back. Pegula then raced out to a 4-0 lead in the decider and never looked back.
• [5] Mirra Andreeva d. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 6-0, 6-2
  • Debuts don't come much better than that. The Roland-Garros champion needed less than an hour to dispatch the former world No. 1, breaking Pliskova in six of the Czech's seven service games. Pliskova did break for a 2-0 lead in the second set, only to lose six games in a row.

Not before 5:00 PM 

• [11] Naomi Osaka (JPN) d. Panna Udvardy (HUN) 6-2, 6-4
  • A hold to open the match was the only time Udvardy had any kind of edge. Osaka proceeded to rip off five straight games to take a double-break lead, wrapping up the first set in just 28 minutes. The four-time major champion then broke to start the second and even though the Hungarian broke back to get to 2-2, there was no stopping Osaka, who scored the decisive break in the seventh game and rode that one to victory. 
• Caty McNally (USA) d. [6] Linda Noskova (CZE) 7-6(5), 6-1
  • The first major upset of the 2026 National Bank Open saw the Wimbledon winner stunned in her first match as a Grand Slam champion. Making the loss even more shocking is that Noskova was up 5-1 in the first set, only to watch her lead vanish and lose the set in a tiebreak. McNally carried that momentum into the second, taking a 3-0 lead that she never relinquished.

COURT 1 - starts at 12:30 PM

• [12] Belinda Bencic (SUI) d. [Q] Sloane Stephens (USA) 6-3, 6-1 
  • Bencic was in command throughout this one. The Swiss broke twice in each set, including in the final game of the first to take it, and saved the only break point she faced on her way to a routine victory over the former US Open champion.
• [13] Iva Jovic (USA) vs Magda Linette (POL) 6-3, 7-5
  • Jovic came out swinging, taking a quick 3-0 lead and squashed Linette's comeback bid by immediately breaking back after Linette broke in the fifth game. The roles appeared to reverse in the second when the Pole went up 3-0, but Jovic clawed back and scored the decisive break in the 11th game. 
• [29] Maria Sakkari (GRE) vs Zeynep Sonmez (TUR) 6-3, 6-2
  • An early break of her serve may have been a wake-up call for Sakkari, who broke twice as part of a four-game run to go from 1-2 down to 5-2 up in the first set. She never trailed again, breaking to start the second and never giving Sonmez a chance to get back in it.
• Liudmila Samsonova d. [22] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 6-1, 7-5
  • Samsonova wasted no time in taking control, winning 12 of the first 15 points as she moved ahead 3-0. Krejcikova was battling on serve through the first and into the second, but saving break points in the opening game provided a spark that she used to break for her own lead, going up 4-1. Samsonova had no interest in a third set, though. She fought back to level at four then broke to love to go up 6-5. She had to save a break point when serving for it but eventually Samsonova finished off the two-time major champion on her third match point.2

COURT 4 - starts at 12:30 PM

•  Taylor Townsend (USA) d. [21] Marie Bouzkova (CZE) vs 7-6(4), 7-5
  • The two sets followed similar scripts, with Townsend scoring the first break, getting broken when trying to serve out the set, but still finding a way to win it. In the first, a five-point run carried her through the breaker, while in the second, she broke right back after failing to serve out the set and got it done at the second time of asking.
• [Q] Alina Korneeva vs [23] Emma Navarro (USA) 6-2, 6-2
  • Navarro's second trip to Toronto did not go nearly as well as her first. The American reached the semifinals last time in 2024 but fell behind 0-3 to start her opening match this year and never recovered, getting broken three times in each set.
• [20] Elise Mertens (BEL) d. Anna Bondar (HUN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
  • Mertens wasted no time in flipping the momentum after dropping the first set, racing out to a 5-0 lead in the second, which was enough cushion to send the match to a decider. Twice in the third, Bondar broke to take a lead but the Belgian never let her pull away. After being broken to go down 3-4, Mertens broke right back to kick off a three-game run that carried her over the finish line.
• [Q] Maya Joint (AUS) d. [14] Sorana Cirstea (ROU)  6-4, 6-4
  • Joint struggled on serve early and fell behind a break 3-1, but bounced back brilliantly, winning six of the next seven games to turn the deficit into a set and a break lead at 1-0 in the second. Cirstea broke right back and the pair went blow-for-blow until 4-all, when Joint broke to set herself up to serve out the match.

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