Top seed Alex Eala passed her first test to secure at least a bronze medal in the Asian Games 2026 women’s tennis singles event on Wednesday.
Eala, the heavy favorite to win it all, shook off a slow start to fend off a gutsy Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei, 7-5, 6-0, in their quarterfinal duel at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya.
Playing at Center Court for the first time after weather disruptions over the past few days, Eala put on a show in front of a predominantly Filipino crowd.
Eala rallied from 4-5 down in the opener before stepping on the gas to take the next nine games.
She broke Garland to love for a commanding 5-0 lead before scoring on back-to-back service winners to close out the 143rd-ranked Garland.
Struggling on her first serves in the second set, Garland had no answer for Eala’s blazing forehand returns.
Eala acknowledged the threat that Garland brought to the table in their showdown.
‘She’s a great player. Obviously, she has really good, high-quality shots,’ Eala said. ‘She has a lot of power, a great serve, many good qualities, and obviously is a fighter. You could see that in the energy she brought on court today.’
Eala, who won bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago, advanced to the semifinals against Chinese Wang Xiyu.
Eala is also competing in women’s doubles with Shaira Rivera. The two play their round-of-16 match later in the evening.
The current world No. 18, who skipped the WTA 1000 China Open to represent the country in Aichi-Nagoya, opened her gold medal bid 6-1, 6-0 win over Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej last Monday.