World No. 102 Claire Liu captured her maiden WTA Tour title with a 6-3 6-0 victory over second-seeded Alex Eala in the Hong Kong WTA 250 final.
The final was initially a close contest, with both players trading breaks in the opening six games to reach 3-3. However, Liu shifted gears from that point on, reeling off nine consecutive games to complete the victory in one hour and 32 minutes.
Liu is now 2-0 head-to-head against Eala, having also defeated the Filipina in the first round of Guangzhou last year.
The American capped an impressive week by claiming the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open title without losing a set. Her impressive run included victories over Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez and Alexandra Shubladze before she overcame Eala in the championship match. With the 26-year-old’s breakthrough triumph, the number of first-time WTA Tour title winners in 2026 has now reached 13.
Liu had previously reached just one WTA final, finishing runner-up to Martina Trevisan in Rabat in 2022.
