Qinwen Zheng wins in Tokyo and secures a place in the WTA final

TOKYO (AP) — Top seed Qinwen Zheng of China won the Toray Pan Pacific Open with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over American wild card Sofia Kenin in the final on Sunday, securing her place in the WTA finals next month.

The seventh-ranked Zheng, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, fired 16 aces and faced just a single break point during the 1-hour, 52-minute victory in Tokyo over 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin .

It is 22-year-old Zheng's third title this year and the first on hardcourt, which she won in Guangzhou last year. Since Wimbledon, she has gone 28-4, including a 12-2 run in the Asian Swing on the Women's Tour.

It was 25-year-old Kenin's best performance of the season. The American was ranked No. 4 at the start of 2020, but a series of injuries, including ankle and quadriceps problems, saw her WTA ranking drop to her current 155th.

The WTA Finals begin on November 2nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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