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Alex Eala, Venus Williams ousted in Canadian Open doubles

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Alexandra Eala Alex Eala Venus Williams Canadian Open Toronto Open National Bank Open 2026 doublesAlexandra Eala Alex Eala Venus Williams Canadian Open Toronto Open National Bank Open 2026 doubles

Philippines’ Alexandra Eala, left, and United States’ Venus Williams bump fists during their doubles match against Japan’s Miyu Kato and Liudmila Samsonova during a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala and Venus Williams ended their doubles campaign after losing to Liudmila Samsonova and Miyu Kato, 6-4, 6-3, in the Canadian Open Round of 32 in Toronto on Friday.

Eala and Williams, the wild-card pair playing together for only the second time, put up a fight and tied the opening set at 4-4 with a break before Samsonova and Kato found their groove, stringing together six straight games to take control of the match.

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READ: Alex Eala: Filipino dreamer to WTA winner

The Filipino-American tandem fell behind 4-0 in the second before winning back-to-back games, including their first break of the set, to pull within 4-2.

Samsonova and Kato broke back to move within a game of victory, but Eala and Williams answered with another break to stay alive at 5-3. The Russian-Japanese duo then served out the match.

Alexandra Eala Alex Eala Venus Williams Canadian Open Toronto Open National Bank Open 2026 doublesAlexandra Eala Alex Eala Venus Williams Canadian Open Toronto Open National Bank Open 2026 doubles

Philippines’ Alexandra Eala, right, and United States’ Venus Williams try for a return during their doubles match against Japan’s Miyu Kato and Liudmila Samsonova during a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

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While the center-court crowd largely cheered for the Filipino tennis star and the American legend, Samsonova said she and Kato enjoyed the atmosphere.

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“So we had a lot of fun. It was a really great atmosphere tonight. It’s always great to play in such a big court,” Samsonova said.

“I enjoy playing with Miyu a lot because she’s such a good girl, first of all, and I feel no pressure with her, honestly.”

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READ: Venus Williams calls Alex Eala her ‘best partner’ after team-up

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The loss marked Williams’ exit in her Toronto return after she also dropped her singles match against Kamilla Rakhimova in the Round of 128 last Monday.

Eala, meanwhile, returns to center court on Saturday morning (Philippine time) to face Caty McNally in the third round of singles.

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Eala opened her National Bank Open campaign with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Alycia Parks, extending the winning streak she built during her title run at the Mubadala DC Open earlier this week.

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Blake Monroe makes surprising confession about her WWE entrance theme

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WWE SmackDown star Blake Monroe recently opened up about the creative process behind her current entrance music. The Glamour surprisingly revealed that she is directly responsible for a specific element of the song that many fans have actively criticized.

Monroe officially arrived on the Friday Night Show on June 27 and quickly established her dominance after attacking Giulia. The star has appeared in segments and promos, but she has still not competed in a televised in-ring match on the brand.

The former AEW star recently made an appearance on TMZ’s Inside the Ropes, where she was asked whether she had any input in the creation of her WWE entrance theme, “Glamour Is Forever.” Monroe confirmed that she was heavily involved throughout the process and even addressed one of the song’s most debated elements.

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Monroe explained that she deliberately wanted a signature opening line, “glamorous forever,” to make her entrance instantly recognizable. She cited WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus as inspiration, pointing to the iconic opening of her entrance music. Blake Monroe revealed that after receiving the first version of the track, she worked with friends with musical experience to refine it further by slowing it down and adding electric guitar before approving the final version.

“Yeah. So I connected with them. I sent them like a bunch of inspiration, which was Sabrina, Ariana Grande, and then kind of described my character cause the song, if you actually listen to the lyrics, is kind of like the way I dress and I act and everything. And then they sent me the first, and I said I wanted the star, which people hate, you know, I say ‘Glamorous forever.’ People like, ‘Why did they put that in there? They ruin everything.’ And I’m like, yeah, why did they do that? That’s crazy. It was actually me. I knew I wanted something signature at the start. You know, like Trish Stratus, it’s like, it’s just iconic. So, I wanted that, and then they sent me the first version, and then I got my friends who’s, like, big into music to kind of help me, and we slowed it down, and we added like electric guitar, and it’s pretty good. They killed it.”

You can watch the full interview below:

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WWE star Blake Monroe made a major statement about the end of her AEW character

Blake Monroe signed with WWE last year in June after finishing her run with All Elite Wrestling, where she performed as Mariah May.

The SmackDown star recently shared her thoughts on closing the chapter on her former AEW persona, explaining why she believes it was the right time to move on.

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During an interview with Danise Salcedo, Monroe was asked about leaving the Mariah May character behind and embracing a fresh start in WWE. She admitted that she views the conclusion of her AEW run as a fitting ending rather than an unfinished story.

“Our dearly beloved friend Mariah did pass away, she got killed off at the end there, but it felt like the perfect end for her and her story, and her impact on people. Now we start something new,” said Monroe.

It will be interesting to see what Triple H and his creative team have in store for the former NXT Women’s North American Champion and when she makes her official in-ring debut on SmackDown.


If you use quotes from the article, please credit TMZ’s Inside the Ropes and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.