Alex Eala was one point from the ASB Classic final, one swing from crossing another threshold. Instead, the Auckland night tilted the other way, and the semifinal of the season’s first WTA 250 turned into a bruising lesson in fine margins.
Wang Xinyu outlasted Eala 5-7 7-5 6-4 on Saturday, saving a match point and surviving a two-hour tug-of-war that swung wildly before settling in the Chinese player’s favor.
The crowd made sure this never felt like a neutral court. Hundreds of Filipino supporters packed Centre Court and hovered around giant screens, turning every Eala rally into a surge of noise and belief. The atmosphere crackled from the opening game and never really let up.
Early on, Eala was chasing. Wang broke twice in the opening stretch, asserting control and forcing Eala to scrap simply to stay in touch. When Eala finally held serve, the roar was as much relief as encouragement.
At 5-2, Wang served for the opening set. The finish line shimmered — then vanished. Eala broke back, struck again two games later, and completed a stirring turnaround when Wang faltered on set point. Momentum swung, loudly.
The second set followed the same uneasy rhythm. Wang jumped ahead. Eala refused to drift. Defence hardened, rallies lengthened, and the crowd dragged her back into contention.
At 5-3, Eala served for the match and earned a match point. The bold attempt to end it missed by inches, and the moment slipped through her fingers. Wang pounced, broke back and took the set to force a decider.
The third demanded more grit than gloss. Eala briefly left the court for treatment while trailing 3-0, then returned with the same stubborn resolve. Wang moved within a game of victory at 5-2, only for Eala to break and hold, cutting the deficit to 5-4 and reigniting hope.
It flickered, but it didn’t last. Serving for the match for a second time, Wang steadied herself and closed it out, ending an absorbing semifinal that showed just how thin the line is between breakthrough and heartbreak.
For Eala, the loss stung — not because she was outplayed, but because she was so close. In Auckland, she didn’t quite get the ending she wanted. She did, however, leave another reminder that her ceiling keeps rising, and that moments like this are no longer distant dreams, but lived realities.
A day earlier, Eala and her double’s partner, 18-year-old American Iva Jovic, dropped their semifinals match against China’s Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.
Jovic, like Eala, also lost her semifinals match in the women’s singles against Elina Svitolina—the partner of Venus Williams in the doubles that Eala and Jovic dispatched in the first round.
