Bencic Reaches Tokyo Final: World No. 13 Scores First Career Victory Against Kenin

Belinda Bencic eliminated Sofia Kenin in the semifinals of the WTA 500 in Tokyo.

Following Elena Rybakina's withdrawal, which sent Linda Noskova into the final of the WTA 500 in Tokyo without playing, it was time for the second semifinal between Belinda Bencic and Sofia Kenin.

Ranked 13th in the world, the Swiss player was the favorite for this match, but caution was needed as she had never beaten the American before. Kenin had won both of their only previous encounters, including the most recent one in Charleston on clay last April (6-0, 6-3).

Bencic, who had eliminated Varvara Gracheva and Karolina Muchova (after saving a match point), was hoping to reach the 20th final of her WTA career. On the other side, Kenin, who had climbed back to 25th in the rankings, had defeated Moyuka Uchijima, Wakana Sonobe, and Ekaterina Alexandrova to qualify for the semifinals.

A finalist in Charleston earlier this season and a winner of 5 titles on the tour, the 26-year-old player, however, is seeking her first title since March 2020. This match lived up to its promises and provided suspense.

No breaks were recorded in the first set, which saw Bencic come out on top after more than an hour of play (7-5 in the tie-break after 1h04). Kenin, however, reacted in the second set. After an initial break that was immediately canceled out by her opponent, the 2020 Australian Open champion eventually pulled away to force a decisive third set.

Bencic then accelerated in the middle of the third set to secure a break that Kenin would never manage to erase. In the end, it was the Swiss player who prevailed (7-6, 3-6, 6-2 in 2h14) for the first time in her career against her opponent of the day.

She qualifies for her second final of the season after her title win in Abu Dhabi last February. She will play this Sunday to win the 10th title of her career against Linda Noskova.

Ten years after playing the final against Agnieszka Radwanska in the Japanese capital, Bencic thus has the opportunity to lift the Tokyo trophy for the first time in her career.

Nevertheless, she has fond memories of Tokyo, having won the Olympic gold there during the 2021 Games held in the Japanese city against another Czech player, Marketa Vondrousova.