American Sofia Kenin has made her way into the final of the Pan Pacific Open by defeating ninth-seeded Katie Boulter 6-4, 6-4, on Saturday. The former Australian Open champion will face top seed Zheng Qinwen of China. The Olympic champion went into the final after defeating sixth seed Diana Shnaider of Russia 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Kenin, a former world No. 4, came to Tokyo ranked No. 155 as a wild card holder. She will soar back into the Top 100 next week. If she could win the title, Kenin would jump into the Top 70. This final of the WTA 500 event in the Japanese capital is her first final in more than a year. Last September, Kenin made the semifinals in Guadalajara.
Sofia Kenin Will Go For Her Sixth WTA Title
The current No. 7 Zheng Qinwen will be Sofia Kenin’s next Top 10 opponent. Kenin will go for the 13th Top 10 win of her career against the Chinese trailblazer. This is also Kenin’s second of the week after she took out No. 9-ranked Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals on Friday, 6-3, 6-4.
For Zheng, this final will be her ninth career final, going 4-4 in her first eight. Last year she won in Palermo and Zhengzhou. She managed to defend her title in Palermo this year. Her last title is the Olympics. Zheng and Kenin will be playing each other for the first time. It is the second time Zheng has reached the final of the tournament after she lost to Liudmila Samsonova in 2022.
The Chance To Rise Again For Sofia Kenin
Sofia Kenin clinched the Australian Open in 2020. She then reached the French Open finals in the same year. At just 25 years old, Kenin once held a career-high ranking of No. 4 in early 2020. A series of injuries, notably to her ankle and quadriceps, have seen her slip to 155th in the WTA rankings.
Her last final was at the Cymbiotika San Diego Open in 2023 – her first final in nearly three years. The last title she won was the Lyon Open in 2020. Now, with the result of the Pan Pacific Open, Kenin is projected to soar back into the Top 100 when the new rankings come out on Monday. Should she go on to win the title, she could climb into the Top 70.
The Injury Strikes Back Again
As Kenin moves closer to reclaiming her former glory, fans eagerly look forward to the showdown at the Ariake Coliseum. Unfortunately, Kenin went back out on court to play her doubles semifinal with her partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands, only to retire with a leg injury in the first set. Despite having some troubles with her injury during her singles clash against Boulter, the American is still planning to play her game and finish it with victory. But she was in tears as her participation in Sunday’s final will remain uncertain.
Kenin’s performance this year has not been great as well. Despite playing all Grand Slams, she failed to book her place in the quarterfinal or beyond. Her best performance in a major tournament came at the French Open where she was knocked out after losing in the third round to Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
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