MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala seized the top seed and a first-round bye in the 20th Asian Games women's singles tennis at the Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Japan.
The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) revealed the tournament draw in a Facebook post on Friday.
Coming off a shock second-round exit at the WTA 500 Singapore Open, the Filipino tennis ace will face the winner between Thailand's Patcharin Cheapchandej and Pakistan's Mahin Aftab Qureshi who clash in the first round.
World No. 18 Eala suffered a stunning 6-4, 5-7, 3-6 loss to No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia in the round of 16 on Thursday in Singapore, where she was the No. 3 seed with a first-round bye.
Eala is determined to bounce back in the Asian Games, where she's the favorite to win the gold medal in the tournament running from September 27 to October 3.
Back in the 2018 edition of the tournament, then 18-year-old Eala snared two bronze medals -- one in individual and another in mixed doubles.
No. 2 seed Zhang Shuai of China also received a first-round bye in this year's 32-player Asiad field.
Ranked No. 55 in the WTA, 37-year-old Zhang is poised to challenge 21-year-old Eala for the title.
Eala already defeated Zhang in their lone encounter in the first round of the HSBC Championships last June, 6-3, 6-2.
No. 3 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and No. 4 Wang Xiyu of China are the two other WTA players poised to challenge Eala for the Asiad gold.
Putintseva is ranked No. 79 while Wang is No. 83.
Meanwhile, another Filipino bet in Tenniele Madis will also compete in the women's singles play.
Madis will face No. 7 seed Himeno Sakatsume of Japan in the first round.
Eala and Madis will compete in the doubles division, too.
Eala teams up with Shaira Hope Rivera as they face Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu of Hong Kong in the first round.
Rivera will also see action in the mixed doubles with Francis Casey Alcantara as they battle Kasra Rahmani and Meshkatolzahra Safi of Iran in the first round.
On the other hand, Madis joins forces with Stefi Marithe Aludo as they take on Anjali Kirana Junarto and Meydiana Laviola Reinnamah of Indonesia for their opener.
