Veronika Kudermetova was knocked out at the start of the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis

The reigning champion Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) was knocked out at the start of the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis hard court tournament in Tokyo (Japan) with a prize fund of 922,573 USD. The Russian tennis player lost to Viktoriya Tomova (Bulgaria) by 0-2 (6:7, 3:6) in almost two hours of play.

Viktoriya Tomova led by 5:2 after a break in the sixth game of the first set, but conceded an equalizer at 5:5. The Russian made a comeback for 6:5, but the Bulgarian tennis player made a second breakthrough for 6:6 and won the set after a tiebreak.

In the second set, Viktoriya Tomova took a 3:1 lead and didn’t allow any hesitation to end the match with her fourth break in total for the final 6:3.

Viktoriya Tomova’s opponent in the second round will be another Russian tennis player – 20-year-old Diana Shnaider, who is sixth-seeded.

Veronika Kudermetova fought for the title in 2023 after success in the final over Jessica Pegula (USA) with 2-0 (7:5, 6:1), and for her it was the second career trophy.