Alex Eala won’t have to play on the opening day of the Asian Games tennis tournament. She will, however, have to wait while two players fight for the chance to face her.
The world No. 18 has drawn a first-round bye as the top seed in women’s singles. Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej and Pakistan’s Mahin Aftab Qureshi will meet for the spot opposite her in round two.
It is a favorable start to Eala’s bid in Nagoya, Japan, but the draw carries a new kind of pressure. Fresh from a three-set defeat to Tatiana Prozorova at the Singapore Open, she arrives as the woman at the top of the bracket—the opponent others would relish beating.
China’s Xiyu Wang, Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima and Chinese Taipei’s Joanna Garland are among the seeds in Eala’s half. Second seed Zhang Shuai of China and third seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan sit on the other side.
Eala’s medal chase also extends to doubles. She and Shaira Hope Rivera face Hong Kong’s Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu in their opener, with China’s Xinyu Jiang and Zhaoxuan Yang awaiting the winners.
Other Filipinos must play from the first round. Tennielle Madis draws Japan’s seventh seed Himeno Sakatsume in singles, then teams with Stefi Aludo against an Indonesian pair in doubles. Rivera and Francis Casey Alcantara open their mixed doubles campaign against an Iranian duo.
Competition begins Sunday, September 27. Eala’s bye buys her time to recover and prepare. Once her opponent is decided, the favorite will have to earn every step forward.
