Caty McNally talks 2026 season, new coach & 'incredible' Toronto atmosphere vs. Eala

TORONTO -- Throughout the clay-court season, Caty McNally traveled with just her physio. 

After the Miami Open, McNally's primary coach, her mother Lynn Nabors-McNally, stopped traveling full time, and McNally wanted to use the clay season to reflect before committing to a new coach. 

"I played basically the whole clay season by myself, just having my physio travel with me, and I just felt I wanted a little bit of time to figure things out," McNally said to wtatennis.com Saturday in Toronto. "I didn't really want to rush into anything."

Throughout the 2026 season on the WTA Tour on Driven by Mercedes-Benz, McNally, who's ranked No. 70, has posted some strong results, including the Round of 16 at the Madrid 1000 and four WTA 250 quarterfinals. As the grass season approached, a familiar face reached out to the American to help fill the void -- Kathy Rinaldi.

Rinaldi, former United States Tennis Association's Head of Women's Tennis, recently left the USTA to pursue new endeavors of creating a tennis academy and expand more into private coaching. For McNally, the decision to bring Rinaldi on board made sense. McNally, 24, has known Rinaldi since she was 11 years old, and they have worked together through USTA and Billie Jean King Cup ties. The familiarity made the transition seamless. 

"Kathy reached out and said that she was open to traveling for the grass season," McNally said. "I was like, 'Oh well, that's honestly, this is a great opportunity' because I didn't really feel I had to jump into someone brand new. We go way back to traveling all over for junior events and team events, and she's always been in my corner through kind of ups and downs in my career, through injuries and stuff. I thought that would be a great opportunity.

"It's been great so far. Obviously she has a lot of experience at this level. She's seen probably every single one of these girls play in so many different formats and events, so she really brings good experience for me. She's been there, she's played herself. 

McNally said the initial plan is for Rinaldi to continue through the rest of the Hard-Court Swing, while someone will temporarily fill in for the Asian Swing. Rinaldi was with McNally in Memphis last week where she reached the quarterfinals, and was in Toronto during McNally's third-round run. McNally upset Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova in the second round before falling to Alexandra Eala Friday night. 

They're now off to Cincinnati for the second of two WTA 1000s during the stretch. When asked about what qualities she was looking for in the gap without a coach, McNally pinpointed to an alignment of values and someone who believes in her game the way it is, and Rinaldi fit the bill.

"The biggest thing is the person they are and their values. For me, that's a huge thing," McNally said. "We're on the road every week, so I want to be around someone that I trust. Someone that has good values and sees my game in the same way that I do in the way that I want it to go forward. A big thing is Kathy's always seen my game. She's never tried to take away any of the qualities that I have, just trying to bring them out at the right times and she's always trusted in me."

Stay tuned: A full feature on Rinaldi is to come on wtatennis.com in the coming days.

The immediate outlook

McNally has seen the progression in her game, but knows she has the potential do to more. Going forward, she's eyeing the second week of a Grand Slam and reaching the second week of WTA 1000s more consistently. Plus, she wants to reach the final and be more competitive of WTA 250s. 

"No pressure either way, but I think I'm definitely more than capable of doing it, and that would be kind of the next step," McNally said. 

The 24-year-old has had some big wins this season. Aside from Noskova a few days ago in Toronto, she defeated then-No. 10 Victoria Mboko in Madrid and No. 25 Emma Navarro in 's-Hertogenbosch. She also took eventual Rome semifinalist Iga Swiatek to a close three-set Match in the Italian capital. 

"Within my game, I think it's progressing really well. I'm doing a lot of things a lot better," McNally said. "I'm starting to play some really good tennis and proving to myself against the top players that I'm right there. We're working on all the right things, and I think the work that I'm putting in is going to continue to pay off coming forward."

Toronto was McNally's second hard-court tournament since the switch back to surfaces, but generally, she doesn't find the change this time of year too drastic -- she finds clay to grass more difficult. Though March was the last time she played on hard court competitively, she had a thorough training week in Florida in mid-July before heading to Memphis. 

I think back on the hard courts, there's a lot of potential for longer matches," McNally said. "It's more physical again. This swing can be really hot, so you have to be in really good shape and ready to go. This one at least I had like a little bit of time to like train and get into."

'I loved every minute of it'

When McNally ultimately fell just short to Eala in the third round Friday, the two shared a warm embrace at the net. 

For McNally, the environment at Sobeys Stadium was one she'll never forget, and despite defeat, she thanked Eala for letting her be a part of the atmosphere during the exchange. 

"When I said that at the net, I genuinely meant that," McNally said. "I think she's pushing the sport in a great direction and packing these stands -- no matter if it's for you or not -- it's helping grow the sport. It's bringing awareness to it. People that don't know much about tennis are getting involved."

McNally knew prior to the match that the crowd wasn't likely going to be in her favor, which is typical for opponents playing Eala whether in Toronto or elsewhere. McNally has played in rowdy environments before through her experience with the United States national team for Fed Cup and Davis Cup ties, but Friday was "10 times on steroids." 

"She's selling out the stadium, it's definitely not me [laughing]," McNally said. "Honestly, I loved it. I loved the atmosphere, and there's like two ways you can go into it. You can either embrace it or you can try to fight it, and you're not going to win that battle.

"I loved every minute of it. Of course, they were really loud and they were cheering for her, but honestly they were cheering for me too. I feel at certain points, I had some people screaming my name."

In some ways, McNally also won Friday. As she exited the court toward the player's tunnel, the Filipino fans showered McNally with applause, and during Eala's on-court interview, she asked her fans to "give Caty the flowers."

"There was a huge mutual respect for the great match that we had," Eala said to press afterwards. "Super gracious and a lot of respect for Caty."

For McNally, she received a 10,000-plus boost of new Instagram followers overnight, of primarily Filipino fans, with many saying on social media they were going to follow McNally and her career going forward. 

"I definitely overnight have felt the love from all the Filipinos. "That was incredible, something I wasn't expecting, but that just shows how invested I guess they are really into her, and then also tennis in general."