Alex Eala assured of Asian Games medal after beating Chinese Taipei's Garland in QF

Alex Eala dug deep in Set 1 before completing a 7-5, 6-0 win over the gritty Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei in the 2026 Asian Games women's tennis singles quarterfinals on Wednesday in Japan.

The Filipina star saved Garland’s set point in the opening frame by winning three straight games before completely shutting down her opponent in Set 2 to pull off the sweep.

In the semifinals, world No. 18 Eala will take on Chinese veteran Wang Xiyu as she bids for a spot in the finals and a chance to become the first-ever Filipina player to win a tennis gold medal in the Asian Games.

By also entering the Top 4, Eala is already guaranteed of at least a bronze medal.

Her match against Garland was by no means a walk in the park.

Eala committed a number of errors in the opening frame, including two attack infractions that allowed world No. 143 Garland to win Games 6 and 7 and take a 4-3 lead over the Filipina star.

A Garland down-the-line forehand winner and an Eala error allowed the Taiwanese to take the set point at 5-4.

But Eala got her act together in the next three games, closing out Game 10 with a forehand winner before forcing Garland into back-to-back errors in Game 11 to take a 6-5 lead. Eala then held her nerve in the next game to close out the set, 7-5.

Momentum completely swung onto Eala's way in Set 2 as the Filipina sensation raced to a commanding 4-0 cushion after punishing Garland with cross-court forehand shots to end Games 3 and 4.

Eala then blanked Garland in Game 5 to move within a game of victory, but the Taiwanese staged a brave fightback in the next game.

Eala and Garland battled through three deuces in Game 6, but Eala's strong serves proved too much for the Taiwanese, whose two straight return errors sealed the victory for the Filipina star.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News