No Asian Games gold for Alex Eala after bowing to Wang Xiyu

Nobody saw shockwaves coming except for her opponent.

Favorite to win the gold medal as the top seed and holding a higher world ranking, Alex Eala was left stunned by China’s Wang Xiyu, who delivered smart shot-making in the last two sets to complete a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 reversal in the Asian Games women’s singles semifinal on Thursday at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.

The loss relegated Eala to her second straight bronze medal in the continental event, while Wang advanced to face Shuai Zhang in the all-Chinese gold medal match on Friday, October 2.

Losing in such painful manner doesn’t make her less proud of representing the Philippines despite the busy, all year round schedule of her professional career.

“It meant a lot to me to be here and to compete,” she said. “At the end of the day I gave my all, I prepared the best I could prepare. I fought the best I could fight,” said Eala, who is set to fly to Wang’s home country of China to resume her WTA journey by competing at the Wuhan Open, which is scheduled from October 12 to 18.

Eala skipped the China Open in Beijing- another WTA 1000 event- to play in the Asian Games.

“I’m happy that I was able to have this experience,” she added.

World No. 18 Eala opened the match with a commanding 5-0 lead, but the No. 85 Wang had other plans, giving the Filipina a taste of her own medicine by building a 5-1 lead in the second to force a decider.

Multiple errors rained down on Eala in the third and final set, letting Wang sit on a comfortable 4-1 cushion.

A seemingly tired Eala kept fighting for her life as she held advantage with a forehand winner and forced a Wang error to stay in striking distance, 2-4.

Eala, however, squandered a 40-15 edge in the seventh game as the energetic Wang held advantage to break serve and move a set away from winning.

In the ultimate game, Eala committed a net error and twice sent the ball wide, allowing Wang to reach match point.

Another forceful shot outside the line cost Eala the match as Wang sealed the upset in two hours and 43 minutes.

The Nagoya heartbreaker also shattered Eala’s goal of earning an outright ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.