Zheng beats Kenin to win third title of the season

Zheng Qinwen will head into her WTA Finals debut on a winning streak after capturing her third title of the year in Tokyo.

No.1 seed Zheng of China claimed the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis trophy with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-3 win over American wild card Sofia Kenin in Sunday’s final at the WTA 500 event.

World No.7 Zheng needed 1 hour and 52 minutes to prevail in her first career meeting with 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin and claim her first hard-court title of the season. It is the fifth career Hologic WTA Tour singles title of her burgeoning career.

“I really appreciate that I’m able to fight through and be the champion in Tokyo,” Zheng said afterwards. “This is the one I wanted to get when I was 19 years old. I fight so hard, but I didn’t, I lost in the [2022] final. So this year, I’m just really happy.”

Zheng had already won two clay-court titles this year: she took home the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and successfully defended her Palermo title. But this was the Chinese No.1’s first title on hard court since she hoisted the trophy in Zhengzhou just over a year ago.

Zheng now has an 8-1 career win-loss record at the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis. In her sole previous Tokyo appearance in 2022, she reached her first career WTA singles final, finishing runner-up to Liudmila Samsonova.