The Pan Pacific Open final will take place this Sunday featuring two players who have had a great 2025 season, bordering the top-10 for months: Belinda Bencic (No. 13) and 20-year-old Linda Noskova (No. 17).

It will be an exciting final between two players who have had a great season and are guaranteed to finish the season inside the Top 15. Bencic will be seeking her second title of the season and 7th WTA 500 trophy of her career, while Noskova searches for the second title of her career.

World No. 13 Belinda Bencic is having a great week at the Ariake Coliseum, precisely the same venue where she won the gold medal back at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. In an inspired week, she defeated Varvara Gracheva (No. 82), Karolina Muchova (No. 21), and Sofia Kenin (No. 25) to reach the 20th final of her career.

The Swiss player has maintained consistency in the Asian swing, with a 10-3 record since Beijing and will play her second final of the season. Bencic holds a good season record of 36-17, having won the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open title back in February. It was the 9th title of her career and 6th at the WTA 500 level.

The experienced Swiss has had a notable campaign in her return to the courts after maternity leave, having started the year outside the Top 400 (No. 421). Her great week guarantees she will finish the season at No. 11—making her arguably the Comeback Player of the Year.

Bencic previously played the tournament final 10 years ago, back in 2015—at just 18 years old—but ended up losing to Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska (2-6, 2-6). The Swiss seeks revenge at the Pan Pacific Open and her second title of the season—after being crowned champion in Abu Dhabi earlier in the year, defeating Ashlyn Krueger in the final (4-6, 6-1, 6-1).

Another great week for Linda Noskova (No. 17), who has made the most of the Asian swing, having reached her first WTA 1000 final at the China Open and now another final in Tokyo, with a 9-3 record in the Asian swing. The 20-year-old Czech has been consistent throughout the year, with a 36-25 record and three finals reached—although still without titles.

In Tokyo, opponent withdrawals have marked her campaign. After a first-round bye, she defeated McCartney Kessler in the Round of 16 (7-5, 6-3, 6-4), then barely got to play for 35 minutes against Anna Kalinskaya before the Russian retired, with Noskova dominating 6-0, 1-0. The semi-final challenge was to be against Elena Rybakina, but the Kazakh opted to withdraw from the tournament after securing her qualification for the WTA Finals—giving Noskova passage to the final without spending much time on court.

The Czech guaranteed continued growth in the rankings and reaches World No. 13 in the live rankings—although she could rise to No. 12 if she secures the title. In 5 previous finals, she only won the title at the 2024 Monterrey Open, having been defeated this year in her two opportunities at the Prague Open against Bouzkova and the China Open against Anisimova.

Bencic and Noskova have no previous head-to-head encounters, though they have clear differences in experience. Bencic, 28, will be seeking her 10th WTA-level title, while Noskova will be going for just her second.

An important difference will be the time spent on court this week: Noskova has barely played two hours and 39 minutes on court, while Bencic reached 6 hours and 48 minutes across her three previous matches—including a battle of more than 3 hours against Muchova in the quarter-finals.

However, Bencic will come in full of momentum after a couple of tough challenges, especially the test of nerves against Muchova in the quarters. Noskova played a competitive match against Kessler in her opener, but then was not tested against the injured Kalinskaya and did not even have to step on the court for the semi-finals.