Anna Kalinskaya witnessed the resurgence of her form during the North American swing but was not able to immediately carry forward the momentum into Asia. Coming into Tokyo following opening-round losses in Beijing and Wuhan, the Russian was able to dispatch lucky loser Suzan Lamens, 6-3, 6-1, in just over an hour.
The former world No. 11 failed to leave an impression in the first half of the season, failing to secure multiple wins in 11 of her first 14 tournaments. The picture began to change after the end of the grass swing as she marched into the final in Washington, the quarterfinal in Cincinnati and third rounds in Montreal and the US Open.
Currently, the 26-year-old has the opportunity to reach her fifth quarterfinal of the year and the second in Asia. Over eight months ago, she defeated Caroline Dolehide and two outside top-100 players en route to a WTA 250 semifinal in Singapore; it remained her best result of the season until the runner-up finish in DC.
Diana Shnaider created a dozen breakpoints and converted half for an efficient 6-3, 6-1 win over Dayana Yastremska in the first round. In addition to avenging her loss at Roland-Garros from earlier this season, the 21-year-old has picked up her second career win at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in as many appearances.
Last year, the left-hander benefitted from a bye and a walkover en route to a fortunate semifinal finish to Zheng Qinwen in Tokyo. It was part of her exceptional breakthrough 2024 season which came to include four WTA titles—including the ones in Asia’s Hua Hin and Hong Kong—helping push her as high as No. 11 in the rankings this May.
The seventh seed has been held back from playing her best tennis over the course of this season, evident by her first- or second-round exits in Seoul, Beijing and Wuhan in this very Asian swing. There have been some oases of brilliance with five quarterfinals in all of 2025, including the ones in Monterrey (title) and Ningbo (SF) in recent weeks.
Head-to-head: 0-0. Anna Kalinskaya is significantly more experienced than her younger compatriot and is not someone to be discounted, particularly after beating five top-20 players over this season. Diana Shnaider, who has failed to win consecutive matches in nine of her last 11 outings, should prepare herself for an uphill task.