Veronika Kudermetova of Russia Takes First WTA Title in Over Two Years at 2023 Pan Pacific Open
The Russian defeated Jessica Pegula of the United States in the final.
Veronika Kudermetova, 26, of Russia defeated Jessica Pegula, 29, of the United States to claim the Women’s Singles title at the 2023 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan (a WTA 500 event). The score in the final was 7-5 and 6-1 in favor of Kudermetova.
This was the second match Kudermetova and Pegula have played against each other on the WTA Tour - with Kudermetova winning their prior meeting during the Madrid Open in May 2023. Today’s victory is the first title Kudermetova has won on the 2023 WTA Tour and the second title of her career in single’s competition. Notably, this is her first title since prevailing at the Charleston Open in April 2021.
Heading into this tournament, Pegula was ranked as the Number 4 tennis player on the 2023 WTA Tour, while Kudermetova carried the Number 19 designation. By winning in Tokyo, Kudermetova has received 470 points in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, Pegula has picked up 305 points.
Liudmila Samsonova of Russia (No. 22) was the tournament’s defending champion. However, she lost in the second round to Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia (No. 21).
The Pan Pacific Open allowed the top two seeds to advance directly to the second round - which applied to Pegula. She arrived in the final after winning against Cristina Bucșa of Spain (No. 79), Daria Kasatkina of Russia (No. 13), and Maria Sakkari of Greece (No. 6).
In the other half of the main draw, Kudermetova defeated Harriet Dart of the United Kingdom (No. 149), Kayla Day of the United States (No. 96), Iga Świątek of Poland (No. 2), and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia (No. 86).
The revised rankings for the 2023 WTA Tour will be officially released on Monday, October 2. The tour will then play one tournament from September 30 to October 8: the China Open in Beijing, China (a WTA 1000 event). The tournament will be played on hard courts.
Former World Number 1 Naomi Osaka of Japan is the reigning champion at the China Open when it was last held in October 2019. She is currently off the tour on maternity leave with the expectation of returning in early 2024.