Fifth-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland outlasted Sofia Kenin 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the Toray Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo.
Bencic struck 10 aces and saved five of seven break points to win in two hours and 15 minutes. Bencic previously reached the final of this tournament 10 years ago as an 18-year-old, losing to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.
Bencic will face No. 6 seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s WTA 500 final after No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan withdrew ahead of the other semifinal with a back injury. Bencic is seeking her 10th career singles title and Noskova, 20, is looking for her second. It will be their first meeting.
Guangzhou Open
Second-seeded American Ann Li and New Zealand’s Lulu Sun will meet in Sunday’s final of the WTA 250 tournament in Guangzhou, China.
Li held a 5-2 lead in the opening set when China’s Shuai Zhang retired from their semifinal match. Li won 16 of the 19 points on her first serve, including five aces, and saved the only break point she faced. She is seeking her second WTA Tour singles title.
Sun prevented an all-American final with a 6-0, 7-6 (3) victory against Claire Liu in one hour and 53 minutes. Sun is looking for her maiden title, having lost her only previous final at the Monterrey Open in August 2024.
–Field Level Media
