She is looking to bag the country’s first gold medal in the sporting category in over 26 years.
On Tuesday, December 16, Filipina tennis champ Alex Eala returned to the hard court for the semifinals match in the women’s singles category at the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Nonthaburi, Thailand
During which, she battled it out against hometown bet, Thai player Thasaporn Naklo, which ended after two games, 6-1, 6-4, in favor fo the 20-year-old Pinay.
With this development, Eala is set to become part of the gold medal match, where she will be going against another Thai, Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
Initially, it was thought of that there would be a rematch between the Alex, who is World No. 53, and her Indonesian contemporary, Janice Tjen, who is in the 54th spot.
However, it was not meant to happen, as Tjen had to retire from her semifinal game with Swangkaew due to breathing issues.
The battle for gold will happen on Thursday, with Alex looking to get the country’s first-ever gold in the event since Maricris Fernandez-Gentz in 1999.
But before that, Eala will join forces with Niño Alcantara in the mixed doubles semifinals.