No Asian Games gold for Eala

Manila Times - Oct 1, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Favored to win the gold medal, Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala bowed to Xiyu Wang of China in a grueling three-set match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in their women's tennis semifinal duel at the 20th Asian Games on a windy Thursday afternoon at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center. Eala, ranked 18th in the world and seeded No. 1 in the tournament, failed to sustain her rousing start and lost to world No. 85 Wang after a long three-hour battle. Eala fully took control of the match against Wang after a 5-0 start in the opening set, orchestrating razor-sharp swings. Wang did not back down from the fight and pulled three straight loves to challenge the No. 1-seeded netter of the tournament, 5-3. Eala had enough with the back-and-forth against Wang and loaded up her swings to take the first set, 6-3. In set three, Wang held a comfortable 5-2 lead, nearing to book her ticket in the finals. Wang finished the match with a loaded hammer, 6-2. Eala fell short in her bid to end the 64-year gold medal drought of the nation, as the last time the Philippines won a gold medal was at the 1962 Jakarta Games, when Johnny Jose defeated Michio Miyagi in the...

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