What is the Japan Open tennis tournament? Tokyo event guide
The Japan Open tennis tournament is a professional women's event held in Tokyo, Japan, and it is part of the WTA Tour. It is run as a WTA 500-level tournament, the tier just below the largest WTA 1000 events. Players compete for ranking points and prize money in singles and doubles.
Why it's in the news
Mia Pohankova, an 18-year-old wild card from Slovakia, beat seventh-seeded Naomi Osaka 6-3, 7-5 in the second round in Tokyo. The result has drawn attention to the event and to Osaka's recent results.
- Mia Pohankova — Teen Mia Pohankova upsets Naomi Osaka in Tokyo, 6-3, 7-5
Background
The Japan Open is a women's tennis tournament played in Tokyo. Sources describe the event as the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, and as a WTA 500-level tournament on the WTA Tour. Sources in this story also refer to it as the Tokyo Open.
The tournament uses a draw with main-draw singles matches, and it includes wild card entries, meaning players who receive a spot from the organizers rather than through their ranking. Osaka, a three-time finalist in Tokyo, played the event for the first time since 2022.
This year, Mia Pohankova, an 18-year-old Slovak wild card entrant ranked No. 144, beat seventh-seeded Naomi Osaka 6-3, 7-5 in the second round on Thursday. The win was the biggest of Pohankova's career and sent her to the quarterfinals, the first time she has reached a quarterfinal at a WTA 500-level event. She will face American Alycia Parks next. Osaka has now gone three straight events without reaching a quarterfinal.
What people are asking
What is the Japan Open tennis tournament?
It is a women's professional tennis event held in Tokyo as a WTA 500-level tournament. Sources also call it the Toray Pan Pacific Open or the Tokyo Open.
Who is Mia Pohankova?
She is an 18-year-old tennis player from Slovakia who entered the Tokyo event as a wild card. She won last year's Wimbledon junior singles title and was ranked No. 144, her career high.
Who does Mia Pohankova play next in Tokyo?
She is set to face American Alycia Parks in the quarterfinals.
Who is Naomi Osaka?
She is a Japanese former world No. 1 tennis player. She is a three-time finalist in Tokyo, and this year she played the event for the first time since 2022.