Top seed Zheng Qinwen has claimed her third trophy of the season at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo after beating former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin in straight sets.
The reigning Olympic champion ousted her opponent 7-6(5), 6-3, without facing a single break point in the match. Zheng also won 38 out of 41 points behind her first serve against Kenin who was wearing strapping on her upper leg. The American was forced to retire from her doubles match on Saturday due to the injury but was able to move around with ease in her latest match.
Zheng, currently ranked seventh in the WTA rankings, has won 28 out of her last 32 matches played on the Tour since Wimbledon. During this period she won the Palermo Open in Italy before claiming a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Before playing in Tokyo, she reached the semi-finals in Beijing and the final in Wuhan.
“I really appreciate that I’m able to fight through and be the champion in Tokyo,” Zheng said of her latest win. “This is the one I wanted to get when I was 19 years old. I fought so hard, but I didn’t, I lost in the [2022] final. So this year, I’m just really happy.”
The triumph is a confidence boost for Zheng ahead of the season-ending WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia which she will be playing for the first tie in her career. She is the first Chinese player to qualify for the event since Li Na in 2013.
“All the players [in Riyadh] are really tough to beat,” she commented. “Since the first match, [I] need to be focused. … It’sthe first time for me to play in the WTA Finals. I was so motivated. But let’s see what’s going to happen.”
As for Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion will return to the top 100 on Monday. She has played 21 WTA events this season but Tokyo was the first where she has made it through to the final. She is the third player this season to reach the final of a WTA 500 event or higher as a wildcard after Paula Badosa in Washington and Jelena Ostapenko in Linz.
Zheng will maintain her current ranking of No.7 heading into the WTA Finals which will get underway on November 2nd.
