The Eala Hong Kong Open final ended in a 6–3, 6–0 defeat to Claire Liu, but Alexandra Eala leaves the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open with a career-high World No. 15 ranking. She opened the season at No. 50 and closes it as the most closely followed Filipino player on tour.
Eala, 21, was upbeat an hour after the match, telling reporters she was "incredibly proud and grateful" for everything she and her team achieved this year. She said the season had changed her life for the better.
Eala Hong Kong Open final result
The scoreline read 6–3, 6–0 in Liu's favour, but the American said the numbers understate the contest. "It was definitely really close. Each point, I feel like it was almost like in order to win a point, you had to hit a winner," Liu said.
Liu will rise to World No. 69 after claiming her first career title. The win puts her 2–0 ahead in the head-to-head; the pair first met in the first round of the 2025 Guangzhou Open, where Liu won 2–6, 6–4, 6–4.
During her champion's speech, Liu said she was moved by Eala's runner-up address. "I feel like I couldn't think of a better person to lead the charge for women's tennis right now," she told Eala.
Claire Liu on facing Eala and the crowd
Liu called Eala a tough opponent and said the support in the stands made the task harder. "I can't speak for everyone, but playing against Alex is one of the hardest things because of the crowd," she said.
Eala described her fans as "amazing" and said they add "another dimension to my job and to my life." She said she can hear cries of "laban" and "puso" from the stands, but that the drive has to come from inside. "Yes, it helps, but for the most part, the motivation to win and persevere comes from within me," she said.
Eala's 2026 season milestones
Eala won the WTA 125 Birmingham Open on grass, reached the Berlin Tennis Open semifinals and advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon in July. In August 2026 she became the first Filipino to win a WTA Tour title, taking the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., and entered the US Open seeded 17th.
The ranking jump framed the year for her. "It's like dreams are only dreams until they're not, right?" she said of finishing at No. 15.
In her runner-up speech she thanked her coaches and family. "This season's changed my life for the better, and I'm incredibly proud of the work we've put in this year," she said, adding of the trophy: "And this one, like all of them, is ours."
What comes next for Eala
After a short off-season break, Eala begins her 2027 campaign in January at the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. She is also set to play the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The original report is by GMA News, published at gmanetwork.com.
