Zheng powers past Kenin in Tokyo, wins third title of year

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

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. 

Tokyo: Scores | Draws

The top seed, Zheng needed 1 hour and 52 minutes to prevail in her first career meeting with 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin and win her first hard-court title of the season. It is the fifth career Hologic WTA Tour singles title.

"I really appreciate that I’m able to fight through and be the champion in Tokyo," Zheng said afterward. "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."

On a roll: 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 her 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.

By going one further in her second Tokyo showing, Zheng extends her exceptional run during the second half of this season. She has gone 28-4 since Wimbledon, including a 12-2 run in the Asian swing.

Zheng had already hit new milestones during this year's autumn stretch. In her home country of China, she made her first career WTA 1000 semifinal in Beijing, then followed up a week later by making her first WTA 1000 final in Wuhan.

After starting this year by making the Australian Open final, Zheng's hot season-ending form helped her clinch one of the last remaining singles spots at the year-ending WTA Finals Riyadh. The Hologic WTA Tour's season-ender begins on Saturday, Nov. 2.

"All the players [in Riyadh] are really tough to beat," Zheng said. "Since the first match, [I] need to be focused. ... It’s the first time for me to play in the WTA Finals. I was so motivated. But let’s see what’s going to happen."

Tale of the match: Zheng was nearly flawless on serve in Sunday's final, which was mostly played under a closed roof following two brief rain delays during the first four games of the final.

Zheng was never broken and faced only a single break point on Sunday. This year's ace leader on tour, Zheng slammed an incredible 16 aces on Sunday, bringing her 2024 total up to 406.

Nevertheless, former World No.4 Kenin gave Zheng all she could handle in the opening set, as the American sought her first title since her breakthrough season of 2020. Kenin boldly erased all five break points she faced in the first set, forcing Zheng into the tiebreak.

But Zheng was up to the task, eking out the breaker with a forehand winner after 67 minutes. Zheng won 100 percent of her first-service points in the opening frame (21-for-21), denying Kenin any chances to get into a return game.

Kenin got her lone break point at 4-2 in the second set, but Zheng wiped it away with an huge serve that went unreturned. At 5-3, Zheng earned championship point with a deft reflex volley, and wrapped up the victory after a Kenin shot flew barely long.

Doubles result: Later on Sunday, the all-Japanese pairing of Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi claimed the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis doubles title on home soil. In the final, they defeated their compatriot Ena Shibahara and Germany's Laura Siegemund 6-4, 7-6(3).

Aoyama and Hozumi took just under two hours to triumph in the all-unseeded final. The titlists were unable to serve out the match at 6-5 in the second set, but they converted their third match point in the second-set tiebreak to collect the trophy.

It is Aoyama's milestone 20th WTA doubles title, and her first in over a year. Hozumi is up to six WTA doubles titles in her career, and this is her first tour-level crown since 2022.