Alex Eala secures first-round bye in Asian Games singles

Alex Eala secured a first-round bye as the top-seeded player in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya as tennis competitions fire off on Sunday, Sept. 26, at the Nagoya Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.

The 21-year-old Filipina star is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 18, where she guns for the gold medal and a direct qualification to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Except for Eala, who bagged the bronze at the 2022 Asiad edition in Hangzhou, China, all three medalists -- gold winner Zheng Qinwen and silver medalist Zhu Lin of China, and fellow bronze medalist Haruka Kaji of Japan -- are not playing this time.

Zheng and Lin are competing in the mandatory WTA 1000 China Open as wildcards, where the tournament clashes directly with the Asian Games.

While eyes are on Eala, the draw also looks daunting, with second seed and two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai on the other half of the draw, along with Kazakhstan and world No. 79 Yuliya Putintseva.

Joining Eala in the upper half of the draw are fourth seed and world No. 84 Wang Xiyu, sixth pick Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, and eighth seed Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei.

Eala is also competing in the women’s doubles with Shaira Hope Rivera, where they are slated to face Hong Kong’s Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu.

Meanwhile, Eala’s teammate Tenny Madis faces a tough first-round task as she squares off with seventh seed Himeno Sakatsume.

Davis Cup veteran Francis Casey Alcantara and Shaira Hope Rivera, on the other hand, start their mixed doubles campaign against Iran’s Kasra Rahmani and Meshkatolzahra Safi in the first round, while Madis and Stefi Aludo clash with Indonesia’s Meydiana Laviola Reinnamah and Anjali Kirana Junarto in the women’s doubles first round.

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