Filipino tennis star Alexandra Eala bowed out of the 2025 Guangzhou Open after falling to American-Chinese standout Claire Liu, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, in a tightly contested first-round match on Tuesday evening.
Liu, ranked world No. 305, overcame a slow start to outlast the world No. 53 Eala in a two-hour, 28-minute battle at the Nansha International Tennis Center, advancing to the tournament’s second round.
The 20-year-old Eala, who earned US$2,975 (around PHP173,500) for her campaign, took control early by breaking Liu’s serve three times to dominate the opening set.
But Liu found her rhythm in the following sets, using a mix of deep groundstrokes and well-timed drop shots to disrupt Eala’s baseline game. Eala led midway through both the second and third sets before Liu rallied to level at 4-all on each occasion.
A crucial break in the fifth game of the decider, capped by a deft drop shot at the net, gave Liu the edge. Eala’s forehand errors in the 10th game sealed her exit as Liu clinched the win, 6-4.
Despite the early loss, Eala achieved a new career-high ranking this week, rising to No. 53 and edging closer to breaking into the world’s Top 50 — her next milestone on the WTA Tour.
