Katie Boulter Falls to Sofia Kenin in Pan Pacific Semi-Final

Katie Boulter, Britain’s top-ranked player missed her chance to reach the Pan Pacific Open final after losing to American wildcard Sofia Kenin in straight sets on Saturday. The 28-year-old Boulter aimed to secure her third title of the season but fell 6-4, 6-4 to Kenin in Tokyo in an hour and 30 minutes. Kenin a former world number four and 2020 Australian Open champion claimed the first set by breaking Boulter’s serve twice.

Boulter fought back to reclaim one break when Kenin first served for the set but couldn’t break a second time allowing Kenin to close out the first set on her second chance. In the second set, Kenin held firm under pressure, saving four break points in the sixth game to tie the score at 3-3. She broke Katie Boulter in the next game and held her advantage to win the set and match, advancing to the final.

Kenin will now face top seed Zheng Qinwen of China, who defeated Russian sixth seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the other semi-final. Zheng the reigning Olympic champion, reaches the Pan Pacific Open final for the second straight year after finishing as runner-up to Liudmila Samsonova in 2022.