Alex Eala came from a set down to beat Talia Gibson 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the Toray Pan Pacific Open round of 16 in Tokyo, winning the decider without dropping a game to set up a quarter-final against Diana Shnaider.
Tokyo, Japan: The draw had already lost its second seed, Maja Chwalinska, and its defending champion, Belinda Bencic, to injury withdrawals before the tournament began. On Wednesday evening the eighth seed, ranked world No. 19, came within a set of joining them on the sidelines before turning the match around completely.
Gibson takes the first set
Talia Gibson, the Australian who had beaten Daria Kasatkina to reach the last 16, put Eala under steady pressure from the baseline and edged the opening set 6-4. Eala spent that set chasing chances she could not convert, and the Tokyo crowd, which included a growing Filipino contingent, watched her fall behind.
Eala finds her range
The momentum shifted in the second set. Eala tightened up her returns, moved better and levelled at 6-2, then went on to take the decider 6-0. She finished with nine aces. Afterwards she said the first set had been hard but that she stayed focused on the chances, trusting that more would come, and she thanked the crowd for its support.
Shnaider awaits
Eala meets Diana Shnaider, ranked world No. 13, in the quarter-final on Friday 30 October. Shnaider beat her 7-5, 6-4 in the second round at the Ningbo Open a week earlier, so the tie is a chance for Eala to settle a recent score. A win would extend a run that began with her maiden WTA title in Washington in August, and Wednesday’s result was her first quarter-final since that triumph.
Result (Toray Pan Pacific Open, round of 16, Wednesday 28 October 2026):
Alex Eala (PHI, 8) d. Talia Gibson (AUS) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
Next: quarter-final v Diana Shnaider (Friday 30 October)
