China’s Wang Xiyu captured the women’s singles tennis gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Sunday, securing a spot at the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics in the process. The 25-year-old defeated fellow Chinese player Zhang Shuai in a decisive 6-2, 6-1 victory at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya. The match lasted 66 minutes.

Tennis is among seven sports at the Games where the champion earns direct qualification for the Olympic Games. Wang, currently ranked No. 85 in the world, had earlier overcome top seed Alexandra Eala from the Philippines in a grueling three-set quarterfinal match lasting two hours and 34 minutes.

Wang praised the experience and resilience of 37-year-old Zhang, who has accumulated multiple Grand Slam doubles titles and now adds a second Asian Games silver medal in singles following her runner-up finish in 2018 in Jakarta. Zhang also holds a gold medal from the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games as part of the Chinese team. Wang acknowledged Zhang’s enduring career as a source of inspiration and respect.

“She is someone I really respect. Everything that she’s been through is also a form of encouragement to me,” Wang said. “Still, on the court, the biggest form of respect I can show is by bringing my best to play her.”

Wang contrasted her relatively facile final with the intense contest against Eala the previous day, describing the latter as an example of true elite competition. “Your actions speak for you,” she said. “It’s when you experience success through the trials that you know what it was all for. Keep trying.”

Outside the sport, Wang joked about her less successful attempts in the kitchen, recounting a recent effort to prepare stir-fried cauliflower that ended in disappointment. “There’s some difficulty in that dish, it’s so easy to get it wrong. I’ll keep trying,” she said, underscoring her commitment both on and off the court.