American Claire Liu claimed her first singles title on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz with a straight-sets victory over No. 2 seed Alexandra Eala in the final of the Prudential Hong Kong Open on Sunday.

The final began evenly, with both players breaking serve once in the opening six games to leave the first set tied at 3-3. From there, Liu took control, winning nine consecutive games to seal a 6-3, 6-0 victory in one hour, 33 minutes.

Liu did not drop a set throughout the week en route to the title. She defeated Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez and Alexandra Shubladze all in straight sets to reach the final.

Playing in just her seventh main draw of the season, the American is set to return to the world's top 70 after beginning the year ranked No. 221. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 52 in January 2023.

The victory was Liu's second over Eala in as many career meetings. She also defeated the Filipino in three sets in the first round in Guangzhou last year.

After a season-long race, the world's top players converge in the California desert with the WTA's biggest title still to be won.

Eala, competing in her third career WTA Tour singles final, now holds a 1-2 record in championship matches.