MANILA — Alexandra Eala continued her blazing run in China, dismantling hometown bet Liu Jiajing, 6-4, 6-1, to barge into the semifinals of the 1st Jingshan Open Tennis 2025 WTA 125 on Friday in Hubei.
The 20-year-old Filipina, now sitting at No. 56 in the WTA live rankings, showed nerves of steel on serve, winning 76 percent of her first-serve points despite landing only 58 percent of them. She punished Liu on key moments, converting five of 11 break-point chances to stay in control from start to finish.
Neither player scored an ace, but Eala limited her errors to just two double faults while Liu committed four. The former Rafael Nadal Academy scholar also commanded the rallies, bagging 60 total points against Liu’s 47, and sealing 12 games to her opponent’s five.
Eala stitched together a dominant stretch of six straight games and a separate run of seven consecutive points, underscoring her growing confidence and maturity on tour.
This semifinal berth further cements her reputation as one of the fastest-rising stars in the women’s game and bolsters her push to crack the WTA Top 50 before season’s end.
With the victory, Eala sets up a semifinal showdown against New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, who earlier ousted Russia’s Elena Pridankina, 6-2, 6-4.
Sun defeated Eala in their lone previous meeting, 7-6, 7-5, during the final round of Wimbledon qualifying last year./PN
