Liu, the world No. 102 and unseeded, needed one hour and 33 minutes to beat the second-seeded Eala at Victoria Park, and she did not drop a set in any of her five matches during the week, according to ESPN Philippines. The 26-year-old American had reached only one previous tour final, in Rabat in 2022.
Eala, 21, started brightly and the first set was level at 3-3, but she called for the physiotherapist for a medical timeout to treat her right knee, which had been taped throughout the week, according to Tennis365. Liu won the remaining games of the set and then swept the second set 6-0, winning the last nine games of the match.
It was the second win in a row for Liu over Eala, after she also beat the Filipina in three sets at the 2025 Guangzhou Open, according to ESPN Philippines. Eala had reached the final by outlasting former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in a rain-interrupted semifinal.
The defeat ends Eala's 2026 season as runner-up in Hong Kong, but her run to the final lifts her to a career-high ranking of world No. 15, according to the reports. Eala, the world No. 17 coming into the week, won her first WTA title in Washington earlier this year and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Liu's path to the title included wins over Prozorova, Boulter, Sonmez and Shubladze before the final, according to TennisTemple. The WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California, run from November 8 to 15 to close the 2026 season.
Sources: ESPN Philippines; Tennis365