American Claire Liu won her first WTA singles title on Sunday, beating second seed Alexandra Eala 6-3, 6-0 in the final of the Prudential Hong Kong Open at Victoria Park.

The final began evenly, with both players breaking serve once as the first set reached 3-3. From there Liu took complete control, winning nine consecutive games to seal the victory in one hour and 33 minutes.

Ranked No. 102 in the world, Liu did not drop a set all week in Hong Kong. She beat Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez and Alexandra Shubladze in straight sets before overcoming Eala, the world No. 17, in the final. Eala took a medical timeout for a right knee problem at 3-3 in the opening set and faded as Liu swept the remaining games.

The title ends a long wait for the 26-year-old, a former Wimbledon junior champion whose only previous WTA final ended in defeat at Rabat in 2022. It was also her second win over Eala in as many meetings, having beaten the Filipino in three sets in the first round at Guangzhou last year.

For Eala, the defeat was a disappointment after a breakout season in which she won her maiden WTA title in Washington in August, becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a tour-level singles title. The result is expected to lift Liu back into the world's top 70, having started the year ranked No. 221.