Alex Eala Advances to Asian Games Semifinals, Secures Bronze Medal for Philippines
Key Takeaways
- •Alex Eala defeated Chinese Taipei's Joanna Garland 7-5, 6-0 to reach the women's singles semifinals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
- •The semifinal berth guarantees the Philippines at least a bronze medal, since the tournament format awards bronze to both semifinal losers and plays no third-place match.
- •Eala rallied from a 4-5 deficit in the first set by winning nine straight games to close out the 109-minute match.
- •A semifinal win over either China's Xiyu Wang or Japan'suka Uchijima would clinch at least a silver medal and a spot in the gold-medal match.
- •Eala passed up the WTA 1000 China Open to play in the Asian Games, forgoing ranking points and exposing herself to a possible $10,000 fine.
NAGOYA, Japan — Alexandra "Alex" Eala kept her golden quest alive at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, overpowering Chinese Taipei's Joanna Garland, 7-5, 6-0, to reach the women's singles semifinals and secure at least a bronze medal for Team Philippines before a flag-waving Filipino crowd at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
Playing on center court for the first time in the tournament as sunny skies finally returned to Nagoya, the world No. 18 and Asiad top seed survived an early scare against WTA No. 143 Garland, trailing 4-5 in the opening set before unleashing a 9-0 closeout that snowballed into the second set for a sweep completed in 109 minutes.
The 21-year-old Filipina's semifinal stint guarantees the Philippines a bronze medal under the tournament format, which sends both semifinal losers home with bronze and plays no third-place match, matching how far she went in her Asian Games debut at the 2023 Hangzhou Games. She is far from finished, however, and will face either China's Xiyu Wang or Japan's Moyuka Uchijima in the Final Four, where a win would clinch at least silver and a place in the gold-medal match as she moves closer to her ultimate gold-medal bid.
Eala fell short of that mission in 2023, losing 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the semifinals to eventual gold medalist and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China. Zheng is not in Nagoya to defend her crown because the WTA 1000 China Open is currently under way in Beijing — the event Eala sacrificed to play for flag and country, passing up the chance to gain more WTA ranking points and exposing herself to a possible $10,000 fine. The Asian Games sits outside the WTA calendar and offers no ranking points of its own, a detail that sharpens the weight of that choice.
Halfway through her bid for redemption, the result was not the walk in the park the gap in world rankings suggested, at least in the early going. Eala also had to adjust to a transition to outdoor play, having spent the first two rounds of the women's singles and doubles on cramped indoor practice courts because of inclement weather in Japan.
She looked rattled, at least in the first set, after dropping back-to-back games to stare at a 4-5 deficit. But the lefty ace had enough left in the tank, paired with proven experience as one of the top players on the pro circuit. Eala served out to force a tiebreaker, broke Garland, then held her own with a service winner as Garland's return went long, producing a 3-0 finishing kick and a one-set lead. From there it was total domination, with Eala dealing out a bagel in the second set to follow up her Round of 16 win over Thailand's No. 517 Patcharin Cheapchandej, 6-1, 6-0, after receiving a first-round bye.
"I think it's understandable that everyone's here to win. Everyone is giving their best," E said of Garland's tough stand. With Zheng absent along with other big guns such as world No. 1 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, home bet Naomi Osaka (No. 17) and Indonesia's Janice Tjen (No. 49), Eala carries the largest target on her back in Nagoya as everyone in the field aims to take down the top seed.
"Being a professional and competitive tennis player, you never know what's going to happen so you can't let your guard down. That contributes to my pursuit of excellence and the best version of myself," she said.
For Eala, that pursuit is for the gold medal — not only for herself, but for the Philippines.
"It was a difficult decision but representing the country and playing in SEA (Southeast Asian) Games, Asian Games and hopefully the Olympics, they're very close to my heart. And it's a big part of my dreams," she said.
To fulfill the ultimate goal of delivering gold, Eala must also juggle her doubles campaign. As first-time teammates, she and Shaira Hope Rivera showed no cohesion problems in their opener, cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Hong Kong's Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu on Tuesday. The Filipina duo was slated to meet the No. 3-seeded pair of Xinyu Jiang and Zhaoxuan Yang of China in the women's doubles second round at press time.
— John Bryan Ulanday, BusinessWorld
