Eala cruises to women’s singles semis by sweeping Malaysian Leong, 6-3, 6-1
ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA lived up to her lofty billing as the highest-ranked among all players, cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 sweep of Malaysian Shihomi Li Xuan Leong to march on to the women’s singles semifinals in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games tennis on Monday at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
A jittery Ms. Eala got off to a slow start, staring at a 1-3 deficit but was quick to get her groove by winning the last five games for the pace-setting victory.
And there was no stopping the Filipina tennis juggernaut, WTA No. 52, from there as she coasted to a near shutout in the second to complete a sweep.
“I’m very happy with the first round, it presented challenges and I’m happy with how [it went],” said the 20-year-old sensation.
Up next for the No.1 seed Ms. Eala is Thailand’s Naklo Thasasporn for a seat in the finale, where fellow rising star Janice Tjen of Indonesia is projected to wait. Ms. Tjen, 23, beat Ms. Eala in the quarterfinals of the 2025 WTA250 Sao Paulo Open in Brazil, 6-4, 6-1.
The home bet also made short work of her quarterfinal opponent in Singaporean Sue Yan Tan, 6-1, 6-3.
Ms. Eala barged straight into the quarterfinals with a first-round bye as well as Ms. Tjen as the top two seeds in the tournament.
At stake for Ms. Eala is a bid to win her first ever gold medal after winning three bronze medals in the 31st SEA Games in the singles, mixed doubles and women’s team in Hanoi, Vietnam. She skipped the next edition in Phnom Penh.
With a semifinal stint, Ms. Eala is assured of a second bronze medal after the Philippine team that also featured Stefi Aludo, Alexa Milliam, Tennielle Madis and Shaira Rivera won bronze in the women’s team event. — John Bryan Ulanday
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