Claire Liu of the United States powered to victory at the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Sunday, dismantling Philippine sensation Alexandra Eala 6-3, 6-0 for her maiden tour-level singles title.

Liu, who entered the WTA 250 event ranked 102nd in the world, added the SAR trophy to a cabinet which already includes challenger-level titles she won in Paris in 2022 and in Barranquilla in September this year.

The pair found themselves locked in a fierce battle at Victoria Park early on, trading blistering shots to go level at 3-3 in the opening set.

After the second-seeded Eala received medical treatment on her right knee, Liu began to pull away convincingly, capitalising on costly errors from her opponent to claim the opener in 38 minutes while overcoming a strong show of support from Filipino fans in the crowd.

The second set proved to be a far more straightforward affair, with Liu breaking serves and wearing out a visibly shaken-up Eala to take the title in dominant fashion.

"This week in general has been really fun," Liu told reporters after her win.

"But it's also been mentally really tough... last tournament of the year, it's a really big push.

"I was just trying to take it one day at a time, and I found myself in the finals."

She also spoke about having to shake off nerves prior to the championship match.

"You really want to win no matter what," she added. "But I think I was just trying to make it like it's just one other match, and yeah, it worked out."

Defeat denied a second major career title for Eala, who was bidding to add to her historic triumph in Washington DC in August that saw her become the first Filipina player to reach and win a WTA 500 final.

Still, Eala spoke highly of the support shown to her in the SAR.

"The fans are amazing, and they add another dimension to my job and to my life that beforehand I could not even imagine," Eala said.

"Thanks to them I'm able to have such special experiences and create such amazing memories, so I'm super, super happy for their support."

In the doubles final, Japan’s Miyu Kato and Chinese Taipei’s Chan Hao-Ching claimed the title, beating Talia Gibson and Maddison Inglis of Australia 6-4, 6-4.
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Last updated: 2026-11-08 HKT 21:01




Edited by Edmond Fong