Claire Liu beats Alexandra Eala 6-3, 6-0 to win Hong Kong Open for first WTA title

American Claire Liu won the first WTA Tour singles title of her career on Sunday, November 8, beating second seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-3, 6-0 in the final of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium. Liu did not drop a set in any of her five matches this week. (Photo: WTA.)

Nine straight games after 3-3 in the first set

The final began evenly, with both players trading breaks in the first six games to reach 3-3. Eala took a medical timeout at 3-3 for trouble with her right knee and did not win another game, as Liu reeled off nine in a row to seal a 6-3, 6-0 victory in one hour and 33 minutes. Eala had already been hampered by the knee after her opening-round win over Emerson Jones, and the injury visibly restricted her movement in the final.

Five wins without dropping a set; ranking rises to No. 69

Liu, 26 and ranked No. 102 in the world, entered the WTA 250 event unseeded and beat Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez, Alexandra Shubladze and Eala without losing a set. It was her second tour final after Rabat in 2022 and her first title; she also extended her head-to-head lead over Eala to 2-0, having beaten the Filipina at the Guangzhou Open last year. The title brings 250 ranking points and $37,390 in prize money, lifting Liu to No. 69 in the live rankings; runner-up Eala collected 163 points and $22,125.

Eala misses out on a second title and ends her season in tears

Eala, 21 and ranked No. 17, won her first WTA title at the Washington Open in August, becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA 500 event. Hong Kong was the final tournament of her season, and she choked up in her post-match speech, saying the season had changed her life. In the doubles final, Japan's Miyu Kato and Chan Hao-ching of Chinese Taipei beat Australia's Talia Gibson and Maddison Inglis 6-4, 6-4.

(Sources: WTA; ESPN; Tennis365.)