Alex Eala is through to the semifinals of the 2026 Asian Games after defeating Joanna Garland in the last eight.

The Filipina star won 7-5, 6-0 against the Taiwanese star to continue her quest for a first gold medal at the Asian Games, to add to her two bronze medals.

She will next play Xiyu Wang for a chance to reach the final, although concern grew for the star’s health during her clash with Garland.

Eala was reportedly coughing a lot during the quarterfinal match and she was asked about her health in her post-match interview.

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Asked if she was feeling okay, Eala brushed off any signs of health issues. “Oh, I’m good. I’m good. Um, yeah, I’m good. Uh, just trying to get ready for doubles,” said the star.

Earlier on in the interview, Eala was asked about her performance. The star was made to work for the first set, but she swiftly swept aside Garland in the second with a bagel.

“Oh, I think I ended the match playing better than I started, which is always a good thing. Nevertheless, there were adversities in both the first and second set. Of course, the score line was a little tighter in the in the first, but really happy with the win.”

Eala will next turn her attention towards the doubles, where she is playing alongside Shaira Rivera. They defeated Hong Kong’s Ching Laam Lai and Kallista Liu in the first round and will next play the Chinese pairing of Xinyu Jiang and Zhaoxuan Yang.

Speaking about her chemistry with Rivera, Eala said: “You never know, you know, different set of opponents today. It’s a different day, so every match is a different story.

We have to see,” she continued. “I think we’ve prepared to the best of our abilities, so we’re going to give it everything we can. Yeah.”

Eala opted to play the Asian Games instead of the China Open, which has essentially nixed her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals at the end of the year.

However, if she manages to pocket two gold medals for the Philippines at this year’s Asian Games, she is very unlikely to care about that.

Following her stint at the Asian Games, Eala is expected to travel to China to compete at the Wuhan Open, the final Masters tournament on the WTA Tour calendar in 2026.

Eala has only ever played the Wuhan Open once in her career, in 2024, when she received a wildcard into the tournament. She was beaten in the first round by Katerina Siniakova.