Fernandez Sets Up Pan Pacific Open Final Clash With Shnaider in Tokyo
Leylah Fernandez reached her second straight final on Saturday, setting up a Pan Pacific Open title clash with Diana Shnaider in Tokyo.
Highlights
- Leylah Fernandez beat Kamilla Rakhimova 7-5 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Pan Pacific Open final
- Third seed Diana Shnaider beat Slovak teenager Mia Pohankova 6-4 7-6(7) in the other semi-final
- Fernandez reached a second straight final after finishing runner-up to Elena Rybakina in Ningbo last week
- Shnaider is chasing her first title of the season; Fernandez won her first title of 2026 in Singapore in September
Fernandez keeps her late-season surge going
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez extended her strong late-season run by beating Kamilla Rakhimova 7-5 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Pan Pacific Open final, where she faces Russia’s Diana Shnaider Reuters.
The 24-year-old reached a second straight final after finishing runner-up to world number one Elena Rybakina in Ningbo last week Reuters. Fernandez had advanced to the Tokyo semi-finals via a walkover after Rybakina withdrew from their quarter-final, and she made the most of the fresher legs against Rakhimova Reuters.
Shnaider ends the teenager’s run
Third seed Shnaider booked her place in Sunday’s final with a 6-4 7-6(7) victory over Slovak teenager Mia Pohankova Reuters. Pohankova’s run to the last four was the story of the week in Tokyo, but Shnaider’s experience told in the second-set tiebreak.
A title both players need
Fernandez won her first title of the season in Singapore in September and will bid for another trophy on Sunday Reuters. Shnaider, by contrast, is chasing her first title of the season — a contrast that sets up the final neatly: the player in form against the player with more to prove, on a hard court that has rewarded Fernandez’s counter-punching all week.
