Fernandez beats Rakhimova to reach Tokyo final, her third of 2026

Leylah Fernandez is into the final of the Pan Pacific Open. The Canadian beat lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova 7-5, 6-3 in Saturday's semi-final in Tokyo to reach her third WTA final of the season, and on Sunday she will play for the seventh title of her career.

A tight first set, then control

Rakhimova made Fernandez work for the opening set, and it took until the closing stages before the Canadian edged it 7-5. Once ahead, Fernandez was the more consistent player and closed out the second set 6-3 to end the run of a player who had only made the main draw as a lucky loser.

Fernandez came into the semi-final fresh after an unplanned day off. On Friday, world No. 1 Elena Rybakina pulled out of their quarter-final, and handed Fernandez a walkover. "Unfortunately, I've been experiencing inflammation and pain in my neck, which has been affecting my ability to play at my best," the Kazakh said in her withdrawal statement. Rybakina had already sealed the year-end No. 1 ranking with her second-round win on Thursday.

For Rakhimova, the week still represents a breakthrough. She reached her first semi-final at WTA 500 level by beating Australian qualifier Maya Joint 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.

Fernandez's strong autumn continues

The result extends a productive stretch in Asia for the 23rd-ranked Canadian. Before the semi-final, she had won 15 of her previous 19 matches, according to Tennis Now. In September she won the Singapore Open, beating Talia Gibson in straight sets in the final for the sixth title of her career. Last week she reached the final in Ningbo, where she lost to Rybakina.

The Ningbo defeat made it two finals in Asia, and Tokyo is now her third. With Rybakina out of the draw, Fernandez is also guaranteed not to face the player who beat her a week ago. A win on Sunday would give her two titles from three finals during the Asian swing.

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Shnaider or Pohánková awaits

Fernandez will face the winner of the second semi-final between third seed Diana Shnaider and Slovak wildcard Mia Pohánková. Shnaider, a Roland Garros semi-finalist this year, came through a tough quarter-final against Alexandra Eala, rallying from a set down to win 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, having also beaten the Filipino the previous week.

Pohánková has been the surprise of the tournament. The 18-year-old reached her first WTA semi-final in only her fourth tour-level event, beating former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka along the way before backing that up with a 7-6(3), 6-3 win over American Alycia Parks in the quarter-finals.

For Pohánková, a win over Shnaider would mean a first WTA final; for Shnaider, a chance to back up her run to the last four in Paris with silverware. The Tokyo final is scheduled for Sunday.