Leylah Fernandez Beats Rakhimova to Reach Tokyo Final

Leylah Fernandez defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 7–5, 6–3 on Saturday to reach the Toray Pan Pacific Open singles final. The Canadian completed a straight-sets semifinal against the Uzbek lucky loser and earned a championship meeting with Diana Shnaider.

Fernandez recovered from early deficits in both sets. Trailing 2–0 in the second, she won six of the last seven games. The victory improved her Asian swing record to 14–3 and gave her 16 wins in her last 20 tour matches.

The WTA credited Fernandez with 41 winners against 20 unforced errors. She struck nine aces and won 14 of 20 points at the net, combining attacking groundstrokes with productive trips forward.

Her route began with a 6–2, 6–4 victory over Japanese wild card Himeno Sakatsume. Fernandez then beat fifth seed Elise Mertens 6–2, 7–6(8), moving through the first two rounds without dropping a set.

Friday’s quarterfinal against top seed Elena Rybakina did not take place. The official draw records a walkover for Fernandez and lists Rybakina’s reason for withdrawing as a neck injury. Saturday was Fernandez’s next singles match.

Rakhimova had beaten Fernandez in Beijing earlier this month, winning 6–2, 4–6, 6–3. Fernandez reversed that result in Tokyo, taking the tight opening set before turning the second set around after falling behind.

Tokyo is a WTA 500 tournament played on hard courts. The published singles draw awards 325 ranking points to the runner-up and 500 to the champion, with the runner-up receiving $114,500 in prize money.

The 24-year-old left-hander owns six WTA singles titles, including Singapore this season. Her career record also includes the 2021 US Open final and last year’s Washington title, her first above WTA 250 level.

Third seed Shnaider advanced by beating Slovak wild card Mia Pohankova 6–4, 7–6(7), securing the other place in the tournament’s final.