Dates, raffles, prize money and everything you need to know

The last WTA 500 event of the season is just around the corner: the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis begins on Monday in Tokyo, Japan.

Six top 20 players are expected to travel to the Ariake Coliseum for the long-running outdoor hardcourt event as the calendar moves steadily towards the season-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh in just over two weeks.

The Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis has been one of Asia’s top events for four decades and boasts former champions such as Stefanie Graf, Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Naomi Osaka.

Here are the most important facts about the event:

When does the tournament start?

The main draw in Tokyo begins on Monday, October 21st. The week-long tournament runs until Sunday, October 27th.

The individual qualification takes place the weekend before, on Saturday October 19th and Sunday October 20th.

The event will use the Yonex Tour Platinum ball.

Tokyo uses Japanese Standard Time (GMT +9, Eastern Time +13).

How big are the fields?

The tournament consists of a singles main draw of 28 players, with the top four receiving byes in the first round. There will be six qualifiers and four wildcards in the main draw.

16 teams will take part in the double draw, two of which will be wildcard pairings.

When is the final?

The singles and doubles finals will take place on Sunday, October 27th. The singles final is currently scheduled to start at 12 p.m., with the doubles final following.

When does the draw take place?

The main singles draw is expected to take place at 2pm on Saturday, October 19th. The doubles draw will also be announced on the same day.

Who are the defending champions?

Veronika Kudermetova won the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis singles title last year. Kudermetova ousted No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals before defeating No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-1 in the final.

Last year’s doubles title in Tokyo went to Ulrikke Eikeri and Ingrid Neel, who defeated Japanese hopes Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya 3:6, 7:5 in the final. [10-5].

What ranking points and prize money are available in the individual main field?

Who is playing?

Here are the stats for the players expected to be seeded:

1. Zheng Qinwen
Ranking: No. 7 (Career High No. 7)
Career singles titles: 4 (2 this year)
Tour-level win-loss record in 2024: 43-16
Win-loss record in the main draw of the career in Tokyo: 4:1
Best Tokyo result: Second 2022

2. Beatriz Haddad Maia
Ranking: No. 10 (career best No. 10)
Career singles titles: 4 (1 this year)
Tour-level win-loss record in 2024: 35-25
Win-loss record in the main draw of the career in Tokyo: 1:1
Best Tokyo result: Quarterfinals 2022

3. Daria Kasatkina
Ranking: No. 11 (career best No. 8)
Career singles titles: 7 (1 this year)
Tour-level win-loss record in 2024: 37-21 (until Ningbo quarterfinals)
Win-loss record in the main draw of the Tokyo career: 3:2
Best Tokyo result: Quarterfinals 2023

4. Anna Kalinskaya
Ranking: No. 12 (Career High No. 12)
Career singles titles: 0
Tour-level win-loss record in 2024: 33-18
Win-loss record in the main draw of the career in Tokyo: 0:1
Best Tokyo result: first round 2023

5. Paula Badosa
Ranking: No. 15 (career high No. 2)
Career singles titles: 4 (1 this year)
Tour-level win-loss record in 2024: 37-17 (until Ningbo quarterfinals)
Win-loss record in the main draw of the career in Tokyo: 0:1
Best Tokyo result: first round 2022

6. Diana Shnaider
Ranking: No. 16 (career best No. 16)
Career singles titles: 3 (3 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 36-20
Win-loss record in the main draw of the career in Tokyo: 0-0
Best result in Tokyo: tournament debut this year

7. Magdalena Naughty
Ranking: No. 24 (career high No. 24)
Career singles titles: 1 (1 this year)
Tour-level win-loss record in 2024: 28-25
Win-loss record in the main draw of the career in Tokyo: 0-0
Best Tokyo result: defeat in qualifying in 2017

8. Ekaterina Alexandrova
Ranking: No. 27 (career high No. 15)
Career singles titles: 4 (0 this year)
Tour-level win-loss record in 2024: 26-24
Win-loss record in the main draw of the Tokyo career: 2:1
Best Tokyo result: Quarterfinals 2023

Veronika Kudermetova will also be there again to defend her title. She is the only former champion currently competing in the main draw.

How has this year’s Asian swing been so far?

Here’s a look at the 2024 champions and finalists from this part of the season in Asia:

Seoul (WTA 500): Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated. Daria Kasatkina
Hua Hin #2 (WTA 250): Rebecca Sramkova defeated. Laura Siegemund

Beijing (WTA 1000): Coco Gauff defeated. Karolina Muchova

Wuhan (WTA 1000): Aryna Sabalenka defeated. Zheng Qinwen

Ningbo (WTA 500): In progress — Scores | Order of play | Pulls
Osaka (WTA 250): In progress — Scores | Order of play | Pulls