Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images

By Joel Reyes

A spot in the championship match will be at stake when Alex Eala and Xinyu Wang square off in the semifinals of the 2026 ASB Classic women’s singles event on Saturday  at ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

Eala followed up her tough first-round win against Donna Vekic with impressive straight-set victories against Petra Marcinko and Magda Linette to secure her place in the semis. She defeated Marcinko 6-2, 6-0 in the round of 16 before recording a 6-3, 6-2 win against Linette in the quarters on Friday. 

Next up for the fourth-seeded Eala is a showdown against the seventh-seeded Wang. The Chinese tennis star advanced to the semis through walkover after her opponent Francesca Jones retired due to a leg injury. Wang was leading 6-4, 4-3 when the match was cut short.

—JMS, Alta Sports