Tennis star Alex Eala finished the Hong Kong Tennis Open final as runner-up after losing to world No. 102 Claire Liu, 3-6.

During the opening set, Eala kept Liu within reach at 3-4. However, Liu secured the final two games after Eala took a medical timeout.

The American bet came out on top in this second career meeting with Eala—also having beaten the Filipina in their first encounter at the 2025 Guangzhou Open Round of 32.

Aside from securing the Open title, Liu has become the first American to have done so in Hong Kong.

Liu took the opening game of the first set, putting Eala under pressure with her serves. But the Filipina fought back, winning three of the next four games to tie the set at 3-all.

Liu regained the lead in Game 7, prompting Eala to call for a medical timeout to have her right knee taped. The American then took advantage of a series of errors from Eala over the next two games, including a return error in Game 9, to claim the opening set.

Eala looked to bounce back in the second set and got off to a promising start. However, she squandered seven game points in a grueling 26-minute opening game, which Liu eventually won.

Liu then seized control of the match, winning the next five games. She overpowered Eala with strong returns in Game 5 before firing three consecutive aces to close out the match in Game 6.