TENNIS – ALEX Eala and Venus Williams saw their Canadian Open doubles campaign come to an end after falling to Liudmila Samsonova and Miyu Kato, 6-4, 6-3, in the Round of 32 in Toronto yesterday.
The wild-card pairing, competing together for only the second time, stayed within striking distance throughout the opening set before Samsonova and Kato seized control late.
Eala and Venus levelled the set at 4-4 after breaking serve, but the Russian-Japanese combination responded by winning six consecutive games across the two sets to take a commanding lead.
The Eala-Venus tandem struggled to find its rhythm early in the second set, falling 4-0 behind. They fought back with consecutive games, including a break, to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Samsonova and Kato restored their advantage with another break to move to 5-2, but Eala and Venus refused to go quietly, breaking back to stay alive at 5-3.
The comeback ended there, however, as Samsonova calmly served out the match to seal victory.
Despite the result, the match was played before a lively center-court crowd that strongly backed Eala and the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.
Samsonova said she and Kato appreciated the atmosphere.
“It was a really great atmosphere tonight. It’s always great to play in such a big court,” Samsonova said.
She also praised her Japanese partner, saying she enjoyed playing alongside Kato because she felt no pressure on court.
The defeat brought Venus’ Toronto comeback to a close.
The 46-year-old American had earlier exited the singles competition in the opening round after losing to Kamilla Rakhimova.
Eala, however, remains in contention in singles and will return to center court today to face Caty McNally in the third round.
The Filipina began her campaign with a hard-fought 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory over American Alycia Parks, extending the momentum from her breakthrough title run at the Washington Open.
The doubles defeat also produced a lighthearted moment during the pair’s joint news conference when Venus was asked about a possible reunion with her younger sister Serena on court.
Venus jokingly suggested that Eala should add Serena to her doubles wish list.
“I think Alex has got to put on her list to play with Serena one day. Then she can complete the Williams sisters,” said Venus, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.
The prospect of the Williams sisters playing together again has drawn considerable attention.
The 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions had hoped to reunite at Wimbledon, but those plans were shelved after Serena suffered a right-knee injury.
The sisters have since been awarded a wild card for the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, where Serena is expected to make her return to competition.
Serena retired from professional tennis following the 2022 US Open but returned to action this year at the grass-court event at Queen’s Club.
Venus, meanwhile, has remained active on tour.
She partnered Diana Shnaider in Washington, where they reached the quarter-final, before joining Eala in Toronto. The two had previously teamed up in Bad Homburg earlier this year.
For Eala, sharing the court with one of tennis’ most accomplished players has been a valuable experience.
“It’s super inspiring. The things that the Williams sisters have done for tennis is incredible. They just keep doing it and keep helping us, especially the women in sports,” Eala said.
The 2026 season has already been a breakthrough year for Eala, highlighted by her title at the Washington Open and victories over several top players, including Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Iga Swiatek, Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka.
Her immediate focus now shifts fully to the Canadian Open singles draw, with McNally standing between her and a place in the next round.
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