NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 7, 2026

Alina Korneeva

Press Conference

A. KORNEEVA/I. Jovic

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Alina, a big win today again. What do you think you did well on court?

ALINA KORNEEVA: I think my motivation was pretty high. I managed my nerves also very, very good before the match, and during the match.

This was the main goal is to be mentally strong, and to stay all the points be into it of the match. I think I did a very good job.

It also helped me to show good tennis today, and better than other days. Yeah, I think this was the main goal that I did, and my coach has to be happy, and she is, and, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. On court you were kind of talking about how you're a little bit removed from the junior level, with a few years in the pros. Can you elaborate where you think you've improved from that jump from the juniors to pros, and maybe kind of what are some of the differences, aside from just playing higher-quality players on the pro circuit.

ALINA KORNEEVA: There's a big difference, especially the mental-wise. Everyone know that in juniors it could happen that you win the tough game and then the opponent give you kind of presents.

Now I feel like more, as I play against good players, top players, I have to be, like, into it in the match every single point. I have to be, like, to be in, you know, full focus.

I think the main goal for me now is to play like all the match without up and downs. Of course you can have it because we're all persons and we can have up and downs, tennis and mentally-wise. That's the main goal for me to improve.

What I did? You have to ask my coach, but I think we're working to be more aggressive, but at the same time continue being a consistent player that can do whatever I want on the court. To have always like plan A, plan B, and so on, on court, if something goes wrong.

Mentally, yeah, as I said, we are trying to improve to be more stable. It's tough because I'm pretty emotional girl, but, yeah, to try to be as stable as I can on the court.

Q. How did your time on the juniors prepare you for life on the tour? I know there's a lot of rising young teenagers on the tour who are excelling in the top 100 and top 50 as well. How did that competition in the juniors help you prepare to compete on the tour?

ALINA KORNEEVA: I don't think that it's a lot, but for sure, for example, if I'm going to advise now to the young players, if you need to play juniors, I would say for sure, yes, because you play a lot of matches.

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 a professional tour. When I was playing like ITF 75, 100K, it was giving me this confidence that I played good in juniors and now I'm in pro.

But in general, all of us, we're already different. We're much more mature than we were when we were 14. We are like thinking in different ways. Everyone has their own life, own ways, own goals.

Yeah, I mean, it's also nice, as I said, to see the same faces that I saw when we were young, and now we're competing in the big stages.

Q. Regarding Iva today, I think both of you were both teenagers born in 2007, you kind of climbed up the junior ranks at the same time. Back in the junior days, how much were you aware of her? Were you noticing her accelerating and things like that, and how cool was it to play her today?

ALINA KORNEEVA: To be honest, I haven't seen her a lot in the juniors. And we haven't played, it was our first match against each other today. We haven't met on the tournaments when I played juniors, so I didn't experience playing against her.

But of course I was following the tour and I saw her like one or two years ago when she started to rise her level and rise her ranking, of course I was watching a lot of her matches.

Q. Obviously you're in the final 16 of a 1000, which is obviously, I think you said it was your second WTA 1000 in your career. What about Toronto's courts are suiting your game, and just your excitement to be in the final 16?

ALINA KORNEEVA: To be honest, when I practice here my first practices here was terrible (laughing). I was a bit, not unconfident, but I was trying to find my game, to find a balance between being, again, aggressive, but being consistent. Because here the balls are not very helpful to be, let's say, consistent.

But now through the matches, again, I'm happy that, sometimes qualies helps you because you play extra matches, and it help you to feel better yourself on the court, to improve in some ways.

For now, I love everything, and I can't say anything bad, I think. But, yeah, I just hope that it's going to be like this next days.

Q. Are you aware of who you could possibly play in the next round? So, regarding Coco or Maria, obviously Coco is currently top-10, Maria is former top-10. Can you share what it would be like to play against either of them?

ALINA KORNEEVA: Again, it's going to be very exciting for me, one more match against top players. It's going to be on the big stage with the crowds, and I'm just very excited. Doesn't matter who it's going to be against.

Maria I played a few weeks ago. So, also good, I already know her better. I know what, which things I have to change after the last match against her.

With Coco it's just, again, it's new experience against a previous Grand Slam champion and top player.

So, today I'm going to go and watch probably on live to analyze with my coach and to prepare as better as we can the match.