Alex Eala set to achieve career first despite losing the Hong Kong Open final

Claire Liu has brought the curtain down on Alexandra Eala’s Hong Kong Open campaign.

The American player, from Thousand Oaks, California, rattled off nine consecutive games en route to a 6-3, 6-0 victory at the Victoria Park Centre Court in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

Eala struggled on her serve during the contest, landing only 47 per cent of her first serves and winning only 40 per cent of her second-serve points.

However, it would be unfair to criticise the young Filipina too harshly. After all, she has achieved much on the WTA Tour this year.

Eala is now set to add another accomplishment to her collection, despite suffering defeat in Sunday’s spectacle.

Alex Eala is set to make her top 15 debut

Eala can now take greater pride from what has been a breakout campaign on the WTA circuit.

The 20-year-old, who won her first WTA Tour event in Washington in August, will gain 103 ranking points following her run to the final in Hong Kong.

Consequently, Eala will rise two places in the WTA rankings and overtake Sorana Cirstea – who has now retired from her playing career – and Naomi Osaka.

Eala will achieve a career-high ranking of world number 15 following the rankings update on Monday.

The new WTA rankings following the Hong Kong Open

Eala has now entered the top 16, boosting her hopes of a deep run at the 2027 Australian Open.

Being a top 16 seed at a Grand Slam is a massive benefit for professional players. This is because those seeded 16 and above are guaranteed not to face another top-16 seed until at least the fourth round.

With the Australian Open seeds confirmed six weeks before the event, Eala is almost guaranteed to be a top 16 seed for the 2027 Australian Open.

How did Alex Eala perform at the 2025 Hong Kong Open?

At the 2025 Hong Kong Open, Eala advanced to the second round following Katie Boulter’s retirement at 6-4, 2-1 during their first-round contest.

Victoria Mboko, the eventual champion, defeated Eala in the second round, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Remarkably, Mboko trailed 1-4 in the final set before winning five consecutive games, and the match.

“She’s such a sweet girl and we have so many great memories together off the court,” Mboko said of Eala after the contest. “We’ll go and get bubble tea together, we do the most wholesome things together.”

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