Claire Liu knocked out fellow American and No. 7 seed Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-3 in Monday’s first-round action at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
The WTA 500 event is being held for the first time since Japan’s Naomi Osaka won the title in 2019. It was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Petra Martic of the Czech Republic crushed Japan’s Rina Saigo 6-1, 6-1, Greece’s Despina Papamichail ousted Xiaodi You of China 6-4, 6-2, China’s Zheng Qinwen eliminated Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-4 and Belgium’s Elise Mertens was a 6-0, 6-3 winner against China’s Wang Qiang. China’s Wang Xinyu won the day’s only three-set match, outlasting Australia’s Ellen Perez 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.
Hana Bank Korea Open
No. 4 seed and defending champion Zhu Lin of China advanced to the second round in Seoul with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Su Jeong Jang of the Republic of Korea.
Kimberly Birrell defeated fellow Australian Priscilla Hon 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, Switzerland’s Lulu Sun defeated Aussie Lizette Cabrera 7-6 (6), 6-2 and Na-Lae Han eliminated fellow Korean Dayeon Back 6-1, 6-1.
Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia is the WTA 250 tournament’s No. 1 seed.
–Field Level Media