Alex Eala faces Wang Xiyu of China in the Asian Games women’s singles semifinal on Thursday at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
The Filipino tennis ace returns to the Center Court again, eyeing a spot in the gold medal match, which will put her closer to her Olympic dream for Los Angeles 2028.
Eala faces her toughest opponent yet in Aichi-Nagoya in Wang, who is currently ranked No. 85 with a career-best ranking of No. 49. The two have not previously met on the court.
Wang owns a WTA title from the Guangzhou Open in 2023, while her best Grand Slam result came at this year’s French Open, where she reached the round of 16.
Eala, meanwhile, came into the Asian Games carrying enormous pressure to win it all as a top-20 player and the No. 1 seed in the women’s singles draw.
But Eala still knows what it feels like to be the underdog.
‘I think it’s a good problem to have. It’s kind of cool because I’ve been on both sides, on the underdog side and then more recently, I’ve been on more of the seeded side,’ said Eala.
‘So I think each of those situations comes with their own set of adversities. Not to say that one is more difficult than the other. It’s just different types of difficulties.’
‘But, of course, it’s always better to be on top. And at the end of the day, there’s always going to be someone better than you in tennis and in life. So I think with that philosophy, you just have to take everything step by step.’
Eala guaranteed herself a medal in her second straight Asian Games stint after beating Chinese Taipei’s Joanna Garland, 7-5, 6-0, in the quarterfinals and dominating Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej, 6-1, 6-0, in the opener.