Eala: A beast in Asiad return

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala will lead a lean but battle-tested Philippine tennis team to the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, seeking to turn her twin bronzes in Hangzhou into gold.

The Philippine Tennis Association has nominated Eala to play singles and women’s doubles with Shaira Rivera in the Asiad tennis starting Sept. 27 at the Nagoya City courts.

Tennielle Madis is the other named to play women’s singles and she’s teaming up with Stefi Aludo in doubles. Completing the entry is the Francis Alcantara-Rivera tandem in mixed doubles.

It’s a compact five-player squad confirmed by PHILTA as the core of the campaign, but one with genuine medal potential, especially in singles.

And that is because this is not the same Eala who settled for bronze as a 17-year-old in Hangzhou three years ago.

The 21-year-old arrives in Nagoya as the World No. 18 – the highest ever for a Filipino and Southeast Asian in WTA Tour history, the first Filipina to break into the top 20, defeat top-10 opponents, reach the fourth round of a major and win a WTA Tour title, clinching her breakthrough at the 2026 Washington Open.

Eala, by ranking and form, is the team.

PHILTA secretary general John Rey Tiangco said they are very grateful to Alex that she’s squeezing in the Asian Games in her tight schedule

In fact, from the US Open, Eala is going to Singapore to play the WTA 500. And right after Singapore, she has to fly to Nagoya.

The China Open – a mandatory WTA 1000 – overlaps with the Asian Games, and PHILTA has formally informed the WTA that Eala will be representing the Philippines and requested an exemption so she will not be penalized.

For Eala, Nagoya offers what no tour event can – a gold medal for the country.

She has unfinished business. In 2023, she lost in the semifinals of both ladies singles and the mixed doubles with Alcantara, settling for two bronze medals. Those bronzes ended the Philippines’ long medal drought in Asian Games tennis, but the ultimate prize remains.

This time the path is more open. China’s Zheng Qinwen, who won singles gold three years ago on home turf, will not defend her title in Aichi-Nagoya, and Japan’s Naomi Osaka will be in action at the China Open.