Dates, draws, prize money and everything you need to know

The season’s last WTA 500 event is upon us with the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis beginning on Monday in Tokyo, Japan.

Six Top 20 players are scheduled to head to Ariake Coliseum for the long-running outdoor hard-court event, as the calendar steadily moves toward the season-ending WTA Finals Riyadh in just over two weeks’ time.

The Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis has been one of the top-tier events in Asia for four decades and boasts former champions like Stefanie Graf, Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Naomi Osaka.

Here are the key facts surrounding the event:

When does the tournament start?

Main-draw play in Tokyo begins on Monday, Oct. 21. The week-long tournament continues through Sunday, Oct. 27.

Singles qualifying will take place the weekend before, on Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20.

The Yonex Tour Platinum ball will be used at the event.

Tokyo is on Japan Standard Time (GMT +9, Eastern Time +13).

How big are the fields?

The tournament has a 28-player singles main draw, with the top four seeds receiving first-round byes. There will be six qualifiers and four wild cards in the main draw.

The doubles draw has 16 teams, two of which will be wild-card pairings.

When are the finals?

The singles and doubles finals will take place on Sunday, Oct. 27. Currently, the singles final is scheduled to start at 12 p.m., with the doubles final to follow.

When is the draw?

The singles main draw is scheduled to take place on-site at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. The doubles draw will also be revealed on the same day.

Who are the defending champions?

Veronika Kudermetova won last year’s Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis singles title. Kudermetova ousted No.1 seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals before a 7-5, 6-1 victory over No.2 seed Jessica Pegula in the final.

Last year’s Tokyo doubles title went to Ulrikke Eikeri and Ingrid Neel, who defeated Japanese hopes Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya in the final, 3-6, 7-5, [10-5].

What are the ranking points and prize money on offer in the singles main draw?

First round: 1 point | $9,820
Round of 16: 60 points | $13,590
Quarterfinals: 108 points | $24,910
Semifinals: 195 points | $51,205
Finalist: 325 points | $87,655
Champion: 500 points | $142,000

Who is playing?

Here are stats for the projected seeded players:

1. Zheng Qinwen
Ranking: No.7 (career-high No.7)
Career singles titles: 4 (2 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 43-16
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 4-1
Best Tokyo result: 2022 runner-up

2. Beatriz Haddad Maia
Ranking: No.10 (career-high No.10)
Career singles titles: 4 (1 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 35-25
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 1-1
Best Tokyo result: 2022 quarterfinals

3. Daria Kasatkina
Ranking: No.11 (career-high No.8)
Career singles titles: 7 (1 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 37-21 (through Ningbo quarterfinals)
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 3-2
Best Tokyo result: 2023 quarterfinals

4. Anna Kalinskaya
Ranking: No.12 (career-high No.12)
Career singles titles: 0
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 33-18
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 0-1
Best Tokyo result: 2023 first round

5. Paula Badosa
Ranking: No.15 (career-high No.2)
Career singles titles: 4 (1 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 37-17 (through Ningbo quarterfinals)
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 0-1
Best Tokyo result: 2022 first round

6. Diana Schneider
Ranking: No.16 (career-high No.16)
Career singles titles: 3 (3 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 36-20
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 0-0
Best Tokyo result: Making tournament debut this year

7. Magdalena Naughty
Ranking: No.24 (career-high No.24)
Career singles titles: 1 (1 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 28-25
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 0-0
Best Tokyo result: Lost in qualifying in 2017

8. Ekaterina Alexandrova
Ranking: No.27 (career-high No.15)
Career singles titles: 4 (0 this year)
2024 tour-level win-loss record: 26-24
Tokyo career main-draw win-loss record: 2-1
Best Tokyo result: 2023 quarterfinals

Veronika Kudermetova will also be back in an attempt to defend her title. She is the only former champion currently entered in the main draw.

How has this year’s Asian swing gone so far?

Here’s a look at 2024’s champions and finalists from this portion of the season in Asia:

Seoul (WTA 500): Beatrice Haddad Maier def. Daria Kasatkina
Hua Hin #2 (WTA 250): Rebecca Sramkova def. Laura Siegemund

Beijing (WTA 1000): Coco Gauff def. Carolina Car

Wuhan (WTA 1000): Aryna Sabalenka def. Zheng Qinwen

Ningbo (WTA 500): In progress — Scores | Order of Play | Draws
Osaka (WTA 250): In progress — Scores | Order of Play | Draws