HONG KONG — American Claire Liu captured the first WTA Tour singles title of her career Sunday, closing the Hong Kong Tennis Open final with nine straight games to beat second seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-3, 6-0 at Victoria Park.
The opening set stayed level through six games, with each player holding one break. Liu, who came into the week unseeded and ranked 102nd, broke again in the eighth game for a 5-3 edge and closed the set on her second set point. She then broke Eala in a long first game of the second set and never let her back in. The match lasted one hour and 33 minutes.
Liu did not lose a set all tournament. Her straight-set wins on the way to the final came over Shubladze in the semifinals, plus Sonmez, Boulter and Prozorova in earlier rounds. The title should return her to the top 70 after she started 2026 ranked 221st; her best ranking is 52nd, reached in January 2023. She is now 2-0 against Eala.
Eala received treatment on her knee during the first set and played with heavy strapping on her right leg. The 21-year-old, who won in Washington in August to become the first player from the Philippines to take a WTA Tour title, is projected to climb to No. 15 next week. She is now 1-2 in tour finals.
Speaking to the crowd afterward, an emotional Eala called her breakout season life-changing, while Liu thanked her team and said she could not have asked for a better finish to her year.
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