Second seed Filipino Alexandra Eala suffered a 3-6, 0-6 loss to American Claire Liu in the final of the WTA 250 Prudential Hong Kong Open Sunday at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium outdoor hardcourt.
The 26-year-old Liu from Thousand Oaks, California needed one hour and 33 minutes to secure her second title — without dropping a set — after winning the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) 125 Kia Open in Barranquilla, Colombia on Sept. 12.
She defeated Tatiana Prozorova (6-2, 6-4), No. 8 seed Katie Boulter (7-5, 6-4), Zeynep Sonmez (6-1, 6-4) and Alexandra Shubladze (7-5, 6-4) to set up a title duel with Eala, ranked No. 17 in the world.
Liu topped the ITF junior rankings in 2017 after winning the girls’ singles title at Wimbledon and a runner-up finish at Roland Garros.
In 2016, she bagged the Wimbledon girls’ doubles crown with compatriot Usue Maitane Arconada.
Meanwhile, Eala is scheduled to play in an exhibition match against Indonesian Janice Tjen at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on Dec. 8.
Eala, 21, arrived in Hong Kong coming off a 6-2, 6-7(5), 4-6 quarterfinal loss to Russian Diana Shnaider at the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan.
Shnaider also beat Eala, 5-7, 4-6, at the WTA 500 Ningbo Open round of 16 a week before.
After bagging the singles bronze medal at the Nagoya Asian Games, Eala had early exits in China and Singapore.
Seeded No. 13 at the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open, Eala fell to Chinese qualifier Shi Han, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, in the first round.
At the WTA 500 Singapore Open, the third-seeded Eala absorbed a shocking 4-6, 7-5, 3-6 first-round loss to World No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova.
Eala is the first Filipino to win a WTA-level tournament title, beating Hungarian Panna Udvardy 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the final of the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico on Sept. 7, 2025. *PNA
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