Players tend to really love the Asian swing for a host of reasons.
The culture. The adoring fans. The gifts. The sights. The food. The snacks.
And speaking of snacks, Top 10 players Elena Rybakina and Ekaterina Alexandrova did a little taste test of Japanese Kit Kats at this week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and ranked them from most delicious to least.
Rybakina went with the classic Kit Kat flavor as her top choice, followed by matcha, cheesecake and strawberry. The orange flavor brought up the rear.
Alexandrova really took her time in making her picks, savoring every bite to make an informed assessment. Like Rybakina, she chose the classic as her No. 1 choice, followed by orange, matcha — “It doesn’t taste like matcha” — strawberry and blueberry.
The 30-year-old, who cracked the Top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings for the first time in her career last week, beat Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals in Tokyo, her 11th quarterfinal run of 2025. She’ll play American Sofia Kenin for a spot in the semifinals.
As for Rybakina, she’s continued her winning ways following last week’s title in Ningbo, where she defeated Alexandrova in the final. The World No. 7 came into Tokyo needing two wins to qualify for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, and she’s now one step closer to punching her ticket after beating Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 16.
With qualification on the line, Rybakina will next play Victoria Mboko, who has looked like her Montreal self this week with commanding wins over Bianca Andreescu and Eva Lys.
If Rybakina wins, she will play either Anna Kalinskaya or Linda Noskova in the semis. Alexandrova would play either Belinda Bencic or Karolina Muchova in her semifinal.
They’re on track to meet in the final for the second week in a row.
AloJapan.com