TOKYO -- The draw is out for the Toray Pan Pacific Open, the final WTA 500 of the Hologic WTA Tour season.
World No.7 Zheng Qinwen tops the draw, with Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia and Daria Kasatkina rounding out the Top 3 seeds. Defending champion Veronica Kudermetova is also set to return.
Anna Kalinskaya (hip injury) and Paula Badosa (illness) withdrew after the draw was conducted.
Main-draw play begins on Monday, Oct. 21 at Ariake Coliseum
Tokyo: Scores | Order of Play | Draws
Zheng returns to Tokyo fresh off her stellar run through the China swing, which included her first WTA 1000 semifinal at the China Open and first WTA 1000 final at the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open. With that surge, the 22-year-old surged up the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard to secure the final qualifying spot for the season-ending championships, a fitting end to a season which saw the Chinese star win Olympic gold and make her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.
Zheng made the Tokyo final in her tournament debut in 2022. She returns this year as the No.1 seed with a bye into the second round, where she will face either Moyuka Uchijima or Mika Stojsavljevic. The first seeded player Zheng could face is No.8 seed Leylah Fernandez, who will open against Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round.
Guadalajara champion Magdalena Frech and Diana Shnaider anchor the second quarter of the draw. Shnaider, who moved into a seeded position after Kalinskaya withdrew, will face either defending champion Kudermetova or Viktoriya Tomova in the second round.
Daria Kasatkina and Wang Xiyu are the top seeds in the third quarter of the draw. Kasatkina is set to play the final at the Ningbo Open on Sunday before heading to Tokyo. She will face either Elisabetta Cocciaretto or McCartney Kessler in her opener.
No.2 seed Haddad Maia tops the final quarter of the draw. She will face either Bianca Andreescu or a qualifier. Katie Boulter, who moved into a seeded position after Badosa withdrew, will face a qualifier in the first round.
