Alex Eala suffers first-round exit in Guangzhou Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Alex Eala suffered an unexpected opening-round defeat at the hands of world No. 305 Claire Liu, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, which wrapped up her WTA 250 Guangzhou Open campaign on Oct. 21, 2025, in China.

The matchup felt like a review of Eala’s quarterfinal loss to Viktorija Golubic in Suzhou, where she also took a comfortable 1-0 lead and fumbled the last two sets for a disappointing finish.

It was another so-close-yet-so-far scenario for the Filipina ace as she couldn’t sustain her momentum for three straight sets, allowing Liu to gain steam midway through the second set, highlighted by several service breaks that erased Eala’s 4-2 lead.

From facing a two-set deficit, Liu calmly handled the tight situation and got off the ropes after blitzing her way to a crucial 4-0 run to level the match at 1-all.

Liu only needed a single service break to pull through and turn the tide before finding that extra gear to push further and hang tight for two more service holds.

Just when Liu thought she had completely stolen the momentum, Eala showed she still had enough gas left in the tank after racing to a 3-1 lead.

However, another tempo swing favored Liu in the fifth game, as she banked on her strong topspin game, which caught Eala off guard several times during the long baseline rally exchanges.

The turning point of the match came when Liu broke Eala for the sixth time to snap the 4-all deadlock.

Needing only a hold to pull off the upset, the American dominated the world No. 53 with a 40-0 lead en route to a come-from-behind victory.

Liu capped off the win with 87 total points, including six crucial break points, seven service aces, and 41 points on the return.

Eala, on the other hand, once again struggled to find her toss rhythm after committing three double faults but made up for it in the offensive department with 93 total points won.