The main favorite of the tournament “WTA 500” in Tokyo, the ex-world leader did not reach the semifinals after losing to Russian Veronika Kudermetova (19 WTA), score 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Veronika Kudermetova in the WTA Tokyo semi-finals after defeating Poland’s Iga Sviatek

Having been eliminated in the 1/8 finals of the US Open 2023, Iga Sviatek lost the first place in the world ranking, and WTA Tokyo became the first tournament in which she participated from the second place.

If in the eighth she barely overcame the 148th place in the world, the Pole did not manage to pass the quarters.

Kudermetova had a great start to the match, leading 4:0 and losing two games to her opponent only in the first set.

Then followed the return of the former world leader, who turned the match into a decider after a solid performance in the second set.

However, the Russian also controlled the third set and, taking advantage of the Pole’s mistakes, advanced to the next round.

The match lasted two hours and 23 minutes.

Veronika Kudermetova will meet Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (86 WTA) in the semifinals.

The Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis (Tokyo) takes place from September 25 to October 1 on hard, is part of the WTA 500 category and has a total prize pool of $780,637. The main favorite is Iga Svyatek, and the crowned champion is Lyudmila Samsonova (2022).