Claire Liu scored one of the biggest wins of her WTA career on Wednesday, ousting eighth seed Katie Boulter 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the 2026 Hong Kong Open. The straight-sets result ended Boulter's season, as the British No. 1 had entered the Asian swing event as her final tournament of the year.
Claire Liu Shocks Katie Boulter in Straight Sets
The match marked the first meeting between Boulter and Liu, though the 26-year-old Californian looked at ease, controlling the tempo from the service line.
She fired six aces without a single double fault while taking three of her four break-point opportunities. Boulter, by contrast, recorded zero aces and three double faults across two sets.
Despite entering as the lower-ranked player at No. 102, Liu showed the form that once carried her to a Wimbledon junior title in 2017. A quarterfinal run in Guangzhou last week built clear momentum heading into Hong Kong.
For Boulter, the early exit stalls a late-season push that included a semifinal in Osaka and a return to the top of England's women's tennis ranks. She reached the Hong Kong final in 2024, but now turns her attention to 2027.
Liu next faces Zeynep Sönmez in Friday's Hong Kong Open quarterfinals.
