Tennis: Alex Eala battles past Gibson, advances to q’finals in Tokyo
The Philippines’ Alexandra Eala hits a return against Russia’s Tatiana Prozorova during the WTA Singapore Open Tennis round 16 in Singapore on September 24, 2026. Roslan Rahman, AFP/FileMANILA (UPDATED) — Filipina tennis star Alex Eala showed impressive grit in battling back from a frustrating start to defeat Australia’s Talia Gibson, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the round-of-16 of the 2026 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Wednesday night.
The Filipina ace endured a slow start and struggled to deal with Gibson’s serve in the opener, but grew into the match and eventually dominated the deciding frame.
With the result, Eala is now headed to the quarterfinal where she will play Russia’s Diana Shnaider, the world No. 13.
“I think [the key was] really staying in the match, never giving up. The first set was difficult [but] I had my chances. So I knew that if I kept my concentration, I would have more chances,” world No. 19 Eala said after her triumph.
After exchanging holds in the first seven games, the 22-year-old Gibson claimed the breakthrough in the eighth, breaking Eala to move ahead, 5-3. Eala broke back immediately, forcing the Australian into a series of errors on her forehand to stay in the match.
But the breaks went Gibson’s way in the next game. Eala dumped back-to-back shots into the net to put Gibson at set point, and the Australian got a lucky bounce when her forehand caught the net cord and dropped onto Eala’s side of the court.
Eala battled back in the second set, immediately breaking Gibson in the first game and then scoring a crucial hold for a 2-0 advantage. She broke Gibson again for a 5-2 lead, and then saved a break point to wrap up the second set and send the match to a decider.
It was all Eala in the third, though the Australian showed great fight in the sixth game. World No. 38 Gibson forced three deuces, but then committed back-to-back errors as Eala closed out the match in an hour and 53 minutes.
The Filipina fired nine aces in the match, and eventually found her way against her opponent’s first serve.
Eala will now seek to turn the tables on Shnaider, who defeated her when they played in the Ningbo Open recently.