The last WTA 500 tournament of 2024 kicked off in Tokyo, while play also began in China on Monday…
Tokyo | WTA 500 Toray PPO Tennis
World No 7 Zheng Qinwen from China leads the field in Tokyo this week, with Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia and Russia’s Daria Kasatkina rounding out the Top 3 seeds.
Although the defending champion Veronica Kudermetova was also set to return, there is a concerning list of absentees again, with Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro (due to illness), Danielle Collins (poor health), Barbora Krejcikova (back/right hip), Liudmilla Samsonova, Maria Sakkari (right shoulder), Marta Kostyuk (left thigh), Donna Vekic (ankle), Mirra Andreeva (age eligibility rule), and Elise Mertens (right shoulder), all ailing, and Anna Kalinskaya (hip injury) and Paula Badosa (illness) withdrawing after the draw was conducted.
Also missing are the new World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No 2 Iga Swiatek, their absence compounding the battle for the year-end top ranking, while Ons Jabeur, Elina Svotlina and Naomi Osaka are amongst those to end their seasons early for a variety of reasons.
Zheng returns fresh off her stellar run through the China swing, which included her first WTA 1000 semi-final at the China Open, and first WTA 1000 final appearance at the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open.
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 year, which saw the Chinese 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, and returns this year as the No 1 seed with a bye into the 2nd-round, where she will face either Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima or British wild-card, Mika Stojsavljevic.
The 15-year old etched her name in the history books after becoming the first British player to win the US Open junior title in 15 years.
The first seeded player Zheng could face is No 8 seed Leylah Fernandez from Canada, who survived a 1st-round challenge from lucky loser Aliaksandra Sasnovich, forging ahead 5-7 6-2, 5-2 on Monday, when the Belarusian was forced to retire due to difficulty breathing after …rk in the last WTA 500 tournament of the year.
Fernandez will next face France’s Varvara Gracheva, who was a 6-1 7-6(4) winner over Japan’s Mai Hontama.
Guadalajara champion Magdalena Frech from Poland and Russia’s Diana Shnaider anchor the second quarter of the draw.
Shnaider, who moved into a seeded position after Kalinskaya withdrew, will face Viktoriya Tomova in the 2nd-round, after the Bulgarian took down Kudermetova, 7-6(3) 6-3 on Monday.
Kasatkina and China’s Wang Xiyu are the top seeds in the third quarter, with the Russian, who won the Ningbo Open on Sunday before heading to Tokyo, facing either Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto or McCartney Kessler from the USA in her opener.
No 2 seed Haddad Maia leads the final quarter of the draw, and takes on Canadian Bianca Andreescu, the wild-card surviving a stern test from Japanese qualifier Mei Yamaguchi on Day 1.
Andreescu, who came from 3-1 down in the first set to defeat Yamaguchi, who was playing her first WTA main-draw match, to score her first match win since the Paris Olympic Games in July.
Britain’s Katie Boulter moved into a seeded position after Badosa withdrew, and will have to overturn a 0-3 deficit in her head-to-head with Australia’s Priscilla Hon, a qualifier, I to open her campaign.
Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez upset No 7 seed Magdalena Frech from Poland, 1-6 6-4 6-3, her 2nd Top 30 win of her career, following her defeat of Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska in Berlin qualifying in June.
20-year old wild-card Wei Sijia upset 6th-seeded Rebecca Sramkova at the WTA 250 Guangzhou Open presented by AVAIR on Monday
WTAtennis.com
Guangzhou | WTA 250 Guangzhou Open presented by AVAIR
Chinese wild-card Wei Sijia rolled to a 6-1 6-4 upset win over 6th-seeded Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia in opening-round action in China on Monday.
The 20-year-old Wei, ranked No 135 in the world, saved 4 of 5 break points in the 75-minute victory, and will face either Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands or China’s Xiyu Wang in the 2nd-round.
Olga Danilovic of Serbia defeated Russia’s Erika Andreeva, 6-4 6-4, and Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian outlasted Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, 6-4 2-6 6-1, in other 1st-round matches on Day 1.
