Alex Eala has had a flawless Asian Games campaign so far.
Eala advanced to the women’s singles semi-finals on Wednesday after defeating ‘One Point Slam’ finalist Joanna Garland, 7-5, 6-0.
On Tuesday, Eala and compatriot Shaira Rivera comfortably defeated Ching Laam Lai and Kallista Liu, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round of the women’s doubles event.
Eala still has a long way to go before potentially securing multiple gold medals in Nagoya, Japan.
Who could the talented Filipina face along the way?
Shuai Zhang, Yulia Putintseva represent the best of the rest in the singles draw
Eala will need to battle past multiple very talented individuals to emerge victorious in the women’s singles event.
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First, she will contest a semi-final match against either Wang Xiyu or Moyuka Uchijima in the semi-finals.
Either player will represent a tough test for the 21-year-old Filipina: Xiyu is the world number 85 and the 2018 US Open junior champion.
Uchijima is the world number 106 and a former Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finalist with Japan.
Were Eala to make her way to the final, she would face Yulia Putintseve or Shuai Zhang: two extremely tough, battle-hardened individuals.
Putintseva has been ranked as high as 20th on the WTA Tour and has reached the quarter-finals at three Grand Slam events during her career so far.
Alexandra Eala’s projected path to the Asian Games gold medal
- Quarter-finals: Joanna Garland
- Semi-finals: Xiyu Wang or Moyuka Uchijima
- Final: Yulia Putintseva or Shuai Zhang
The Kazakhstani player has also defeated the likes of Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.
Zhang, a WTA Tour veteran like Putintseva, would also represent another very tough test for Eala.
The Chinese star has defeated multiple world number one players, including Dinara Safina, Simona Halep and Aryna Sabalenka.
Zhang is currently ranked 57th on the singles Tour and seventh on the doubles circuit.
Alex Eala and Shaira Rivera’s tough path to women’s doubles glory
Eala and Rivera will need to defeat multiple excellent doubles pairings to win the Asian Games women’s doubles event.
After defeating Laam Lai and Liu on Tuesday, the Filipina duo are due to face third seeds Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan.
Zhaoxuan is currently ranked 75th in doubles on the WTA Tour, but has been ranked as high as seventh. Jiang is currently ranked 22nd on the circuit.
Eala and Rivera’s path to the title could also potentially include the second seeded Taiwanese pair Hsieh Su-Wei and Liang En-Shuo.
With nine Grand Slam titles to her name across doubles and mixed doubles, Su-Wei is one of the most accomplished doubles players of the modern era.
En-Shuo is a two-time Grand Slam doubles semi-finalist and is currently ranked 21st on the doubles circuit.
If Eala and Rivera were to do the unthinkable and reach the final, they would likely play top seeds Guo Hanyu and Shuai Zhang.
Zhang is a three-time major doubles champion. Hanyu recently won her first major doubles title alongside Kristina Mladenovic at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships.
