Tokyo 2025 Day 4 predictions: Women's singles ft. Belinda Bencic vs Varvara Gracheva, Sofia Kenin vs Sonobe Wakana

Title contenders Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic will begin their Toray Pan Pacific Open 2025 campaign in the Round of 16 on Thursday, October 23. Swiss is seeded fifth in Tokyo and is set to face Varvara Gracheva in the WTA 500 event in Tokyo on Day 4. The 2024 runner-up, Sofia Kenin, will also feature in the Round of 16 matches at the Ariake Coliseum on Day 4.

Rybakina is the top-seeded player after Jasmine Paolini withdrew from the tournament to prepare for the WTA Finals scheduled next month. A total of four women's singles matches will take place on Day 4. Winners of these fixtures will join Karolína Muchova, Victoria Mboko, Anna Kalinskaya, and Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals.

Here are our Day 4 predictions at the Toray Pan Pacific Open 2025:

#1. Belinda Bencic vs Varvara Gracheva

Belinda Bencic at the 2025 Wuhan Open - Day 6 - Source: Getty

Belinda Bencic is enjoying a decent 2025 season with a 33-17 win-loss record. She won the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, her first title since April 2023. The World No. 13 has been excellent on hardcourts in the Asia swing, reaching the Round of 16 in Beijing and Wuhan, and quarterfinals in Ningbo.

Bencic has a strong record in Tokyo, including a runner-up finish in 2015, and is expected to easily overcome Varvara Gracheva, the World No. 82. Gracheva defeated Wang Xinyu in the opening round after coming through two qualifying wins.

Prediction: Belinda Bencic to win in straight sets.

#2. Sofia Kenin vs Sonobe Wakana

Kenin at the Korea Open Tennis - Day 1 - Source: Getty

Sofia Kenin, who lost the 2024 Pan Pacific Open title to Zheng Qinwen, is the top-seeded American in Tokyo. Kenin registered an easy 6-1, 6-3 win over unseeded Moyuka Uchijima in the opening round after her shocking first-round exit in Ningbo. The one-time Major champion is searching for her first WTA title since March 2020.

Kenin has had a tough Asia swing this season, with second-round exits in Wuhan, Beijing, and Korea. She last reached the quarterfinals in March, where she finished as a runner-up in Charleston. However, she is unlikely to face a defeat against Sonobe Wakana in the Round of 16 match on Day 4. Wakana, the 17-year-old Japanese, is ranked 263rd in the WTA singles and defeated Nikola Bartunkova in the opening round.

Prediction: Sofia Kenin to win in three sets.