Claire Liu wins first WTA title in Hong Kong — Interia Sport

American tennis player Claire Liu won the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong, defeating the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala 6:3, 6:0 in the final. It was Liu’s first career title at WTA tournaments.

Road to the title

As Interia Sport reports, Liu did not concede a single set to her opponents before the final. On her way to the decisive match, she defeated Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez and Alexandra Shubladze, with no tie-break needed in any of those matches.

Eala defeated Emerson Jones, Tereza Valentova, Antonia Ruzic and Maria Sakkari in the previous rounds. In the final, Liu lost her serve in the second service game at the start of the match, but immediately broke back. The American’s break at 5:3 proved decisive in the first set.

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Medical timeout and emotions

At 4:3 in the first set, Eala took a medical timeout due to problems with her right knee and hip. The second set ended 6:0, although it lasted 58 minutes. The first game of the set consisted of 28 rallies and lasted more than 25 minutes: Liu broke serve and then saved three break points on her own serve.

During the award ceremony, Eala could not hold back her tears. She congratulated her opponent on a successful week and match, and also said that she was proud of the work done by her team this season. Liu, in turn, called the Filipino tennis player an inspiration for women’s tennis. For the American, this was her first final since the tournament in Rabat in 2022.