Title contenders Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic will begin their campaign at the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open in the round of 16 on Thursday, October 23. Switzerland is seeded fifth in Tokyo and will face Varvara Gracheva at the WTA 500 event in Tokyo on day four. 2024 finalist Sofia Kenin will also compete in the round of 16 at Ariake Coliseum on day four.
Rybakina is the top seed after Jasmine Paolini withdrew from the tournament to prepare for the WTA Finals scheduled for next month. A total of four women’s singles matches will take place on day four. The winners of these matches will join Karolína Muchova, Victoria Mboko, Anna Kalinskaya and Linda Noskova in the quarter-finals.
Here are our predictions for Day 4 of the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open:
#1. Belinda Bencic vs. Varvara Gracheva
Belinda Bencic is having a decent 2025 season with a 33-17 win-loss record. She won the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, her first title since April 2023. The world No. 13 was excellent on hard courts during the Asian swing, reaching the round of 16 in Beijing and Wuhan, and the quarter-finals in Ningbo.
Bencic has a strong record in Tokyo, including a runner-up finish in 2015, and should easily defeat Varvara Gracheva, the world No. 82. Gracheva defeated Wang Xinyu in the first round after earning two qualifying victories.
Prediction: Belinda Bencic will win in straight sets.
#2. Sofia Kenin vs. Sonobe Wakana
Sofia Kenin, who lost the 2024 Pan Pacific Open title to Zheng Qinwen, is the top American seed in Tokyo. Kenin recorded an easy 6-1, 6-3 win over unseeded Moyuka Uchijima in the first round after his shocking first-round exit in Ningbo. The former Major champion is seeking her first WTA title since March 2020.
Kenin has had a tough time in Asia this season, with second-round eliminations in Wuhan, Beijing and Korea. She last reached the quarterfinals in March, where she finished second in Charleston. However, she is unlikely to suffer a defeat against Sonobe Wakana in the round of 16 on day four. Wakana, the 17-year-old Japanese, is ranked 263rd in WTA singles and beat Nikola Bartunkova in the first round.
Prediction: Sofia Kenin winner in three sets.
#3 Leylah Fernandez vs. Elena Rybakina
Prediction: Elena Rybakina will win in three sets.
#4 Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Jaqueline Cristian
Prediction: Ekaterina Alexandrova will win in straight sets.
Edited by Hitesh Nigam
