Photo: Getty Images

By Joel Reyes

Alex Eala and Iva Jovic’s bid to win the women’s doubles event at the 2026 ASB Classic ended in disappointment as they suffered a 5-7, 3-6 loss to Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang in the semifinals on Friday at ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

Eala and Jovic dropped the first set against the third-seeded Chinese pair after their serve was broken in the 11th game. Xu and Yang converted three of their seven break-point opportunities to take the opening set 7-5.

The Chinese duo sustained the momentum in Set 2 to win the match in one hour and 27 minutes. They will next face Hanyu Guo and Kristina Mladenovic in the finals.

Eala’s ASB Classic stint isn’t over, though, as the Filipina tennis star is still alive in the women’s singles event. She will face Xinyu Wang in the semifinals on Saturday.

—JMS, Alta Sports