AICHI-NAGOYA — Alex Eala and Shaira Rivera exited the Asian Games women's doubles in the second round after a 5-7, 2-6 straight-sets loss to China's Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan in Aichi-Nagoya. The seeded Chinese duo closed out the Filipinas in two sets to advance, ending Eala and Rivera's run after an opening-round straight-sets win.
Rivera hit the ball into the net on the final point to hand victory to Jiang and Yang, then paid tribute to her partner in an interview with One Sports. "I just want to thank Alex [Eala] for giving me this opportunity to play with her. I'm so grateful for everything, and I love her so much. I think we played good overall," Rivera said. Eala added: "Leaving the court with no regrets. Super looking forward to it. I think the future of Filipino tennis is bright, with our two girls and the ones to come afterwards. So I'm looking forward to it, maybe next time with Shaira again – I have no idea. But I would love every opportunity to do that," she said.
The Filipinas had a brief opening when Yang Zhaoxuan required treatment for her back in the second set but could not capitalize. Prominent Filipino coach Roland Kraut assessed the partnership on One Sports' coverage, saying: "Not bad at all, especially in the first set. It was just a few points here and there. The Chinese pair weren't spectacular, but they were very consistent, very basic, and their strategy in what they were doing." On the medical timeout, he said: "The rule there is she can only ask for one injury timeout on that injury; in this case, I think it's the lower back, but she can receive treatment in the changeovers, within the one-minute allowed time. I'm sure she's [Eala] just making it clear how much time, when did it start. Now they have time in the meantime to ask for coaching from their coaches. I'm sure it's not gamesmanship from the Chinese, because they're leading anyway."
Eala risked a $10,000 fine for playing the Asian Games instead of the mandatory China Open, and doubles gold had been a priority before the second-round exit. With an eye on the 2030 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, she said the future of Filipino tennis is bright. If she wins singles gold this year, a return in 2030 is uncertain.
Attention now turns to singles. Eala defeated Joanna Garland earlier on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals, where she will face Wang Xiyu on Thursday, October 1, with the winner to meet Yulia Putintseva or Zhang Shuai in the final on Friday, October 2. Eala must beat Xiyu and then Putintseva or Shuai to be crowned 2026 Asian Games champion. Of the four semi-finalists, Putintseva has won 82% of her games, ahead of Eala at 81%, Shuai at 75% and Xiyu at 69%, with Xiyu the only semi-finalist to have dropped sets — against world No. 391 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva and world No. 106 Moyuka Uchijima in Aichi-Nagoya.