Filipina tennis star Alex Eala celebrates a point against Thailand's Thasaporn Naklo in the semifinals of the women's singles in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, December 16, 2025 at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand. POC Media
(2nd UPDATE) Filipina tennis star Alex Eala will play for a gold medal in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
Eala swept her Thai opponent, Thasaporn Naklo, 6-1, 6-4, in their semifinal showdown on Tuesday at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand to book her place in the championship match.
There, she will play Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew, ranked 137th in the world, for the gold medal.
Sawangkaew advanced to the final after world No. 54 Janice Tjen of Indonesia retired in their own semifinal match up due to breathing issues.
Eala qualified for the semis after a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 win over Malaysia's Shihomi Leong in the quarterfinal on Monday afternoon.
World No. 53 Eala cruised to victory in the opening frame, but encountered more resistance from Naklo in the second set.
The Thai won the first two games before Eala regained her bearings to forge a 2-2 tie.
A crucial error by Naklo in the extended seventh game put Eala ahead, 4-3, and the Filipina went on to hold her serve to take control, 5-3.
Naklo stayed alive, holding her serve and benefiting from an Eala error to trim the deficit, 5-4.
Eala made sure that there would be no upset against the world No. 542, however, dominating the final game to seal the victory.
"I think her opponent is a very experienced player. I think Alex definitely handled the center court very well. She had some resistance, especially in the second set," said women’s team head coach Denise Dy.
"I thought the Thai player, Naklo, did a very good job battling and trying to compete back. I think that's also what makes Alex great. She was able to not only respond very well, but close it out, which I think was very important for her," she added.
The gold medal match in the women's singles is set for Thursday in the same Nonthaburi venue, with Eala seeking the country's first gold in the event since Maricris Fernandez-Gentz did it back in 1999 — before Eala was born.
On Wednesday, Eala will team up anew with Nino Alcantara in the semifinal of the mixed doubles, where they also hope to progress to the championship match.
READ: Eala, Alcantara bank on chemistry in bid for mixed doubles gold