Alex Eala’s hopes of a maiden Asian Games gold medal and qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics tennis tournament have been crushed by China’s unheralded Wang Xiyu in the semifinals. World number 85 Xiyu rallied to a 3-6 6-3 6-2 win over the Filipino top seed at the games on Thursday. Eala, the Southeast Asian nation’s first WTA title winner and a fan favourite on tour, was consigned to her second singles bronze medal and third in total, having also taken the mixed doubles bronze at Hangzhou three years ago.
The 21-year-old gave up the chance to earn ranking points and prize money at the concurrent China Open to represent the Philippines in Nagoya and may get a fine and ranking penalty from the WTA for skipping the mandatory event in Beijing. The world number 18 was on track for her first Asian Games final but her level dropped in the second set before she crumbled to a 4-1 deficit in the third. The 85th-ranked Wang fought off break points against the increasingly desperate Eala before serving out the match to love at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
I had a couple of ups and downs during the match, which is something I have to talk to my team about and process,” said Eala. Wang will meet 37-year-old Zhang Shuai in an all-China final. She may have her hands full against former Wimbledon and Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang, who rolled back the years to beat Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-4 6-2.
Zhang has medalled at three previous Asian Games, taking silver in the 2018 singles in Jakarta and a team gold at the 2010 Guangzhou Games. She will be in her 40s when the next games launch in Doha in 2030 but was not ruling out playing. But look, aren’t I here again?” she said.
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