Rising Stars Eala, Noskova on collision course;…

Fans in Toronto may not have to wait long to see two of the WTA's rising stars face off at the 2026 National Bank Open.

A possible third-round clash between No. 8 seed and recent Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova and 25th seed Alexandra Eala was the matchup that caught everyone’s attention when the singles draw was made early on Friday.

Each youngster has a bye and would have to overcome either a qualifier or an American, Caty McNally for Noskova and Alycia Parks for Eala, in order to set up that blockbuster third-round meeting. It would be their third matchup this year already, with the Czech having won both previous clashes in straight sets, including at a hard-court WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells.

The pair are in the third quarter of the draw with No. 4 seed Coco Gauff and in the bottom half with No. 2 Elena Rybakina.

If seedings hold, Toronto fans could get a rematch of a quarter-final that happened at Sobeys Stadium the last time the WTA visited. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka once again finds herself on a collision course with Amanda Anisimova, who was ranked outside the Top 100 in 2024 but is seeded eighth this time around. The American caused the upset in that clash, going on to reach the final.

The world No. 1 has an interesting road to get to the last eight. She will open against either a qualifier or Cristina Busca and could have a hard-hitting third-round matchup with 28th seed Jelena Ostapenko. Potential seeded opponents in round four including No.18 Maja Chwalinska, who reached the Roland-Garros final in May, or No. 15 Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Anisimova, who will open against a qualifier, may have to play spoiler to set the quarter-final clash with Sabalenka, as she is in the same section of the draw as 2019 Toronto champion and home favourite Bianca Andreescu. They could meet in the third round.

No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek was on hand for the draw at Sobeys Stadium on Friday. She will open against either Sara Bejlek or Xinyu Wang, with No. 31 Donna Vekic her first potential seeded opponent. In round four, the Pole may have a shot at revenge for her surprise round-four loss at Roland-Garros when she could face on No. 10 seed Marta Kostyuk.

Swiatek is in the same quarter as No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula. The two-time National Bank Open champion will be looking to get back to her winning ways in Canada after a surprise third-round loss last year in Montreal.

Pegula will open against either Magdalena Frech or a qualifier and her first potential seeded opponent is No. 32 Katerina Siniakova. She could then meet No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider in the fourth round. Shnaider reached her only WTA 1000 semifinal two years ago in Toronto.

Also lurking in that corner of the draw is veteran Venus Williams, who received a wildcard into the tournament. The seven-time Grand Slam champion plays Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round with Siniakova waiting in round two.

Whoever comes out of the Swiatek-Pegula section could play Sabalenka or Anisimova in the semis.

The second-seeded Rybakina finds herself at the bottom of the draw. She will play either Daria Kasatkina or Xinyu Wang in her opening match. Her first possible seeded opponent is No. 28 Ann Li in the third round, with No. 14 Sorana Cirstea and No. 22 Barbora Krejcikova potential fourth-round opponents.

Roland-Garros Champion Mirra Andreeva is Rybakina's projected quarter-final opponent, but another local favourite will try to stand in the way of that matchup. Andreeva's third-round opponent is the lone seeded Canadian in Toronto, No. 30 seed Leylah Annie Fernandez.

The Lavalloise will have to beat either Renata Zarazua or Tamara Korpatsch to get to that third-round meeting, while Andreeva will have to beat one of Oleksandra Oliynykova or Karolina Pliskova. The reward for whoever reaches round four could be last year's Montreal runner-up Naomi Osaka, seeded 11th this year, before meeting Rybakina in the quarters.

Whichever player comes out of that quarter would meet whoever emerges from the Gauff-Noskova quarter.

Canadian Draws

Eight Canadian women were featured in the draw on Friday, led by the 30th-seeded Fernandez.

Andreescu will face off with Nikola Bartunkova in the first round, with No. 27 seed Clara Tauson standing between her and that potential third-round clash with Anisimova.

Ariana Arseneault is in the same section of the draw as Andreescu. She opens against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, with No. 9 seed and 2017 Toronto champion Elina Svitolina waiting in round two. She lost in the first round to Osaka last year in Montreal.

Kayla Cross earned her spot in the main draw by winning the Road to the NBO for the second consecutive year. She will try to pick up her first match win at the WTA 1000 level against Katie Boulter. She came close a year ago in Montreal, losing to Rakhimova in three sets.

Cadence Brace has one of the tougher paths. She opens against McCartney Kessler, who reached the fourth round last year in Montreal, with No. 17 seed Anna Kalinskaya waiting in round two. Katherine Sebov is in that same quarter of the draw and opens against a qualifier, with Kostyuk looming in round two.

Two veterans round out the Canadian contingent. Rebecca Marino is in Gauff's pocket of the draw, but has a difficult first-rounder against Zeynep Sonmez followed by No. 29 seed Maria Sakkari in round two before a possible third-round meeting with Gauff.

Carol Zhao will be making her final appearance at the National Bank Open. The 31-year-old will be competing in the main draw in Canada for the first time since 2022 and will take on Magda Linette in her opening match. No 13 seed Iva Jovic would be her reward for a win.

Main-draw play begins in Toronto on Sunday. The order of play will be announced on Saturday night. The qualifying and doubles draws will be released soon.

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

Feature Photo : Owen Reynoldson/WTA Tour