Tennis trailblazer Alex Eala from the Philippines burst into tears as she reflected on a “life-changing” season after falling agonisingly short of a second WTA Tour title in Hong Kong. The second seed was stunned 6-3, 6-0 by Claire Liu in the final of the Hong Kong Open as the American, ranked 102nd, won her first tour title on Sunday. Eala is at a career-high 17 in the world after a breakout year in which the 21-year-old clinched her maiden title, in Washington, DC, in August. That victory made her the first player from the Philippines to win a tournament on the WTA Tour. Eala, set to rise to world number 15 next week, started the year ranked 50th.
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