Kenin beats Boulter in straight sets to advance to Pan Pacific Open final

Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020 and was a French Open finalist the same year, served out to win the match for her best tournament performance of the season.

Sofia Kenin of the United States reacts after winning her semifinal match against Britain’s Katie Boulter in the Pan Pacific Open. | Photo Credit: AP

Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin has advanced to the final of the Pan Pacific Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over ninth-seeded Katie Boulter on Saturday.

Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020 and was a French Open finalist the same year, broke the British player’s serve in the seventh game of the second set and the American served out to win the match for her best tournament performance of the season.

The 25-year-old Kenin was ranked as high as No. 4 early in 2020, but a series of injuries, including ankle and quadricep ailments, has seen her WTA ranking drop to its current 155.

Headed to the final 👏@SofiaKenin continues her fabulous week in Tokyo with a straight-sets win over Boulter!#TorayPPO2024pic.twitter.com/9NqSmGxc2p

— wta (@WTA) October 26, 2024

Boulter, ranked 33rd, had not lost a set during the Tokyo hard-court tournament.

Kenin beat Boulter in the only other time they have played but it was when Boulter retired with an injury in the second set while trailing 4-1 to Kenin after losing the first set in Acapulco in 2019.

Boulter beat 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu on Friday in the quarterfinals.

Later, No. 1 seed and Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen is scheduled to play Diana Shnaider for a place in Sunday’s final against Kenin.