Up a Set, Then Shut Out: Alex Eala Settles for Asian Games Bronze Again

For a few games on Thursday, Alex Eala looked like she was finally going to play for an Asian Games gold medal. She led China's Wang Xiyu 5-0 in the semifinals.

She lost 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, and goes home with bronze for the second straight Games.

Three years ago in Hangzhou, the left-hander lost to eventual champion Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 3-6. This time, at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center, it was another Chinese player who stopped her one match short of the final.

How it turned

Eala, 21, came out aggressive on return and ran off five games. Wang won the next three to make it 5-3, and Eala needed four set points to close out the opener. Her returning was the difference early: she won 21 return points in the first set to Wang's 12.

Wang, ranked 85th, settled in after that. She broke Eala in the fourth game of the second set, consolidated for 4-1 and kept pressing on Eala's serve, which had stopped being a strength. The third set wasn't close.

Losing to a player ranked 67 spots lower stings. Eala is still No. 18 in the world, and the WTA has just announced an expanded tournament in Manila for 2027, built largely around the interest she's created at home.