Qinwen Zheng & Sofa Kenin to Meet in Pan Pacific Open Finals

Qinwen Zheng and Sofa Kenin will face off in the Pan Pacific Open finals.

Qinwen Zheng and Sofia Kenin will meet in the Pan Pacific Open finals on Saturday night. / Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Most tennis fans in the United States were probably asleep during the Pan Pacific Open semifinal matches. The silver lining is the finals between Qinwen Zheng and Sofia Kenin will be played less than 24 hours after last night's action was completed in Tokyo, Japan.

First up, Sofa Kenin defeated the nine-seed Katie Boulter in straight sets: 6-4, 6-4. The 2020 Australian Open champion entered the tournament ranked as the WTA World No. 155 with a record of 10-24.

Headed to the final 👏@SofiaKenin continues her fabulous week in Tokyo with a straight-sets win over Boulter!#TorayPPO2024 pic.twitter.com/9NqSmGxc2p

— wta (@WTA) October 26, 2024

This year's Pan Pacific Open is the first time Kenin has even advanced past the quarterfinals of a tournament since last September in Guadalajara. However, Kenin has begun to look like her old self on the tennis court as of late.

In the later match, the one-seed Zheng defeated the six-seed Diana Shnaider in straight sets: 7-6(5), 6-3. Zheng entered the tournament as the World No. 7 with a record of 37-16. After outlasting Shnaider in a first set tie-break, Zheng was unstoppable in the second set.

Grip it and rip it 🚀

Qinwen Zheng with an emphatic finish as she moves ahead in the 2nd set!#TorayPPO2024 pic.twitter.com/aHTab2mwNB

— wta (@WTA) October 26, 2024

The rising star won a gold medal for China in the Paris Olympics and has already secured her place in the WTA Finals next month.

Zheng and Kenin have never faced each other before, so fans do not know what to expect. The finals of the Pan Pacific Open will be played at 11:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, October 26. Fans can watch the event on the Tennis Channel as well as other select broadcasters.

Back where it all began 👏

Qinwen Zheng defeats Shnaider to return to the final in Tokyo!#TorayPPO2024 pic.twitter.com/NlHTIYFU5K

— wta (@WTA) October 26, 2024

Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

More WTA Tennis News

• Emma Raducanu provided a positive injury update to her fans.

• Naomi Osaka and Nike have teamed up to promote girls' access to sports in Japan.

• Qinwen Zheng forgot one important part of her Nike outfit in the Pan Pacific Open.