Eala sees easy road to Asiad gold

Alex Eala’s decision to compete at the 20th Asian Games has opened a bigger opportunity for the Philippines, with several of Asia’s top players opting out of the women’s singles competition in Nagoya, Japan.

Philippine Tennis Association executive director Tonette Mendoza said Eala remains committed to representing the country despite the scheduling conflict with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) calendar, with the China Open offering ranking points and a bigger purse.

World No. 36 Janice Tjen of Indonesia was the latest to withdraw from the Asian Games after opting to play at the China Open, a WTA 1000 event set from 30 September to 11 October at the National Tennis Center in Beijing.

“After a lot of consideration, I’ve had to make the difficult decision that I won’t be able to compete at the Asian Games this year which takes place at the same time as the mandatory WTA 1000 event in Beijing,” Tjen said in a social media post.

“We have received confirmation from the WTA that unfortunately, I have not been granted an exemption to compete at the Asian Games.”

Unlike Tjen, however, the 21-year-old Eala has chosen to represent the Philippines in Nagoya after her Singapore Tennis Open campaign from 21 to 27 September.

The Asian Games tennis tournament is scheduled from 27 September to 3 October at the Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.

“We’re very happy and very grateful to Alex. She really likes to play for the country,” Mendoza told DAILY TRIBUNE in a phone conversation.

Eala will skip the China Open despite the possibility of facing a monetary penalty for missing the mandatory WTA event.

Mendoza said the Philippine tennis body continues to communicate with the WTA in hopes of having Eala exempted from the fine.

Eala’s decision has become even more significant with several of the continent’s highest-ranked players also skipping the Asian Games.

World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 13 Naomi Osaka of Japan, No. 43 Wang Xinyu of China, No. 76 Lanlana Tararudee and No. 99 Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand will not compete in Nagoya.