It was still a good fight for the Philippine tennis stars.
On the evening of September 30 (Wednesday), Alex returned to the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center for a women’s doubles event game with her tournament partner Shaira Rivera. There, they faced the Chinese tandem of Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan.
At the onset, it was already a tough play with the Filipina pair needing to devise moves in order to level the playing field in the opening set after facing a deficit. While they were able to accomplish that, their formidable rivals were too much to keep at bay and took on the win of the first set.
In the second set, the Pinay duo continued to trail their opponents and scored just two wins before their Chinese rivals ended it with a win. 7-5, 6-2.
The following day, on October 1 (Thursday), Filipina tennis star Eala kicked off the month with her semifinals match in the women’s singles against another Chinese team members, Wang Xiyu.
Eala, the top-seeded player, scored five straight games in the opening set before her opponent gave her momentary three-game break. The Filipina netter, however, was able to regroup and finish off the first set with a win.
However, it was in the second set when she was met with tougher opposition from the Chinese player, who had made advances to secure a decider.
In the third round, the tennis star, who is currently world no. 18, attempted to regain momentum, but it was clear that her rival already has it.
The final scoreline in her singles semifinals was 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
After the game, Eala said: “It meant a lot to me to be here and to compete, and at the end of the day I gave my all, I prepped the best I could prep, I fought the best I could fight.”
Despite her exit, Alex has already secured herself a bronze medal, which is the same medal she won in her Asiad debut in Hangzhou, China back in 2023.
