![\"Tennis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/tennis-20th-asian-games-aichi-nagoya-day-12-nagoya-japan-october.jpg\")
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NAGOYA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 01: Eala Alexandra of Philippines looks on against Wang Xiyu of China in their Tennis Women’s singles semi-finals on day twelve of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya at Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center on October 01, 2026 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. (Photo by Yuichi Masuda\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Alex Eala<\/a> has beaten Talia Gibson<\/a> twice before. But the Filipina tennis<\/a> star expects a different challenge when they renew their rivalry Wednesday in the Pan Pacific Open round of 16.<\/p>\n Eala, the tournament\u2019s eighth seed, faces the Australian on Center Court at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. The match is scheduled for no earlier than 4 a.m. Eastern time (4 p.m. Philippine time).<\/p>\n A place in the WTA 500 quarterfinals awaits the winner.<\/p>\n Both players enter the contest following convincing opening-round victories, setting up their first meeting at WTA Tour level.<\/p>\n What Time Is Alex Eala vs. Talia Gibson?<\/p>\n The match is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28, with a not-before-5 p.m. start in Tokyo.<\/p>\n That translates to 4 a.m. ET, 1 a.m. Pacific and 4 p.m. in the Philippines.<\/p>\n Because the match is part of a tournament schedule, the actual start could change.<\/p>\n Eala, ranked No. 19 in the world, will face the 38th-ranked Gibson on outdoor hard courts.<\/p>\n How to Watch Alex Eala vs. Talia Gibson Live<\/p>\n U.S. viewers can watch Pan Pacific Open coverage through Tennis Channel and its streaming services, subject to the broadcaster\u2019s match schedule.<\/p>\n Philippine viewers can check Premier Sports 2, available through Cignal, along with streaming options such as Cignal Play and Blast TV.<\/p>\n Fans without television access can follow live scores through the official WTA website<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tournament also provides updated schedules and results.<\/p>\n Alex Eala Shares Thoughts on Facing Familiar Rival<\/p>\n \n Eala cruised past British teenager Mika Stojsavljevic 6-1, 6-2 in Monday\u2019s opening round, needing just 75 minutes to advance.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old controlled the match with consistent returning and disciplined baseline play.<\/p>\n Stojsavljevic struck 24 winners but committed 41 unforced errors. Eala limited herself to 11 and converted four of seven break points.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was super important today to be focused on every single point,\u201d Eala said during her on-court interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n She also explained how her aggressive returning helped neutralize Stojsavljevic\u2019s powerful serve.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s a great server,\u201d Eala said. \u201cI definitely think that\u2019s one of the key points from the match today.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead to Gibson, Eala acknowledged their previous meetings offer limited insight into Wednesday\u2019s matchup.<\/p>\n \u201cI think both of us have developed a lot and maybe our games have changed in certain aspects,\u201d Eala said.<\/p>\n She recalled Gibson\u2019s powerful game and competitive mentality, anticipating a difficult encounter.<\/p>\n Talia Gibson Enters Match After Impressive Victory<\/p>\n \n Gibson opened her Tokyo campaign with a commanding 6-0, 7-5 victory over fellow Australian Daria Kasatkina.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old dominated the opening set before holding off a stronger challenge in the second.<\/p>\n Gibson\u2019s powerful serve and aggressive groundstrokes could test Eala, particularly if she consistently earns free points behind her first delivery.<\/p>\n The Australian has also enjoyed notable success this season, including a quarterfinal appearance at Indian Wells.<\/p>\n However, Eala holds a 2-0 advantage in their previous meetings.<\/p>\n She defeated Gibson 6-3, 6-1 in Palma del R\u00edo, Spain, in June 2023 before recovering to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Aldershot, England, that August.<\/p>\n Both matches took place on hard courts at lower-tier ITF events.<\/p>\n Wednesday offers Gibson an opportunity to reverse that history and Eala a chance to extend her winning streak against the Australian.<\/p>\n For Eala, another victory would also provide welcome momentum after a difficult Asian swing that included an early exit in Wuhan and a second-round defeat to Diana Shnaider in Ningbo.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a veteran NBA reporter for Heavy.com, covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He brings over 20 years of experience across local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Originally from the Philippines, he is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty NAGOYA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 01: Eala Alexandra of Philippines looks on against Wang Xiyu of China in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-942972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Wuhan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wuhan-open-day-1-wuhan-china-october-12-alexandra-eala-5.jpg\")
GettyAlexandra Eala of Philippines competes against Shi Han of China on day one of Wuhan Open at Optics Valley International Tennis Center on October 12, 2026 in Wuhan, China.\n<\/p>\n![\"Lexus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lexus-nottingham-open-day-one-nottingham-england-june-15-talia.jpg\")
Getty\u00a0Talia Gibson of Australia celebrates winning match point against Francesca Jones of Great Britain during the Women\u2019s Singles First Round match on Day One of the Lexus Nottingham Open at Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre on June 15, 2026 in Nottingham, England.\n<\/p>\n