Katie Boulter’s hopes of reaching the Pan Pacific Open final were dashed with a 6-4, 6-4 semi-final defeat to American wildcard Sofia Kenin in Tokyo. The British number one had been aiming for her third title this year, but Kenin, a former world number four and 2020 Australian Open champion, proved too strong in the one-hour, 30-minute match.
In the first set, Boulter was broken twice, and although she recovered one break as Kenin first served for the set, she couldn’t equalize again, allowing Kenin to secure the opener. The second set saw Boulter pushing hard, forcing four break points in the sixth game, but Kenin held her nerve to hold serve and then broke Boulter in the next game, sealing her path to the final.
Kenin will face top-seeded Zheng Qinwen of China in the final. Zheng, who recently won Olympic gold, overcame Russia’s Diana Shnaider 7-6(7-5), 6-3 to reach her second Pan Pacific Open final, having finished runner-up to Liudmila Samsonova in 2022.
