Women's main draw play at the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open and 2025 Guangzhou Open will begin Monday, Oct. 20. The Toray Open is a WTA 500 level event, while the Guangzhou Open is a WTA 250 event. These outdoor hard-court tournaments both have 32-player draws (28 for Toray with byes for the top four seeds) and feature numerous women's tennis stars, even after some last-minute withdrawals. There are still six top-20 players scheduled to take the court at the Toray Open, while the Guangzhou Open presents a nice opportunity for non-household names to take the spotlight, with the top seed clocking in at No. 40 in the rankings. Below are the top title contenders and dark horses for the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open and Guangzhou Open.
Favorite to Win the 2025 Toray Open
Elena Rybakina: Rybakina is seeded No. 2, but top seed Jasmine Paolini pulled out prior to the start of this event, as did No. 4 seed Clara Tauson, who would have been Rybakina's chalk semifinal opponent. Rybakina just beat Paolini, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open en route to winning the title, so the big-serving Moscow native looked like the favorite at the Toray Open even before the pair of late withdrawals from other seeds. Almost every match Rybakina plays is on her terms, as she dictates play with power off the ground. The biggest challenge for Rybakina has been stringing together healthy events without ailments or injuries popping up,
Women's main draw play at the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open and 2025 Guangzhou Open will begin Monday, Oct. 20. The Toray Open is a WTA 500 level event, while the Guangzhou Open is a WTA 250 event. These outdoor hard-court tournaments both have 32-player draws (28 for Toray with byes for the top four seeds) and feature numerous women's tennis stars, even after some last-minute withdrawals. There are still six top-20 players scheduled to take the court at the Toray Open, while the Guangzhou Open presents a nice opportunity for non-household names to take the spotlight, with the top seed clocking in at No. 40 in the rankings. Below are the top title contenders and dark horses for the 2025 Toray Pan Pacific Open and Guangzhou Open.
Favorite to Win the 2025 Toray Open
Elena Rybakina: Rybakina is seeded No. 2, but top seed Jasmine Paolini pulled out prior to the start of this event, as did No. 4 seed Clara Tauson, who would have been Rybakina's chalk semifinal opponent. Rybakina just beat Paolini, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open en route to winning the title, so the big-serving Moscow native looked like the favorite at the Toray Open even before the pair of late withdrawals from other seeds. Almost every match Rybakina plays is on her terms, as she dictates play with power off the ground. The biggest challenge for Rybakina has been stringing together healthy events without ailments or injuries popping up, but when she's rolling, Rybakina's right up there with the WTA Tour's elites. Recent Japan Open champion Leylah Fernandez could present an early test in the second round after Rybakina's first-round bye, but No. 6 seed Linda Noskova, No. 7 Diana Shnaider and No. 9 Victoria Mboko are the only other seeds in Rybakina's half of the draw.
In the Mix to Win the 2025 Toray Open
Ekaterina Alexandrova: Alexandrova just lost to Rybakina in the final of the Ningbo Open, and they are favored to have a rematch in the Toray Open championship match given the depleted draw. Alexandrova would have been in Paolini's half, but the 10th-ranked Russian is now the top-ranked player in the top half of the draw, without a seed on her path until either No. 5 Belinda Bencic or No. 8 Karolina Muchova in the semifinals. Similar to Rybakina, Alexandrova's a big hitter who likes to dictate play. Alexandrova holds herself back mentally and underachieves when the lights are brightest, but her level should be high here since this isn't a Grand Slam event, or even a WTA 1000.
Belinda Bencic: Bencic was the biggest beneficiary of Paolini withdrawing, as the No. 5 seed got shifted into Paolini's vacant spot to balance out the draw. Instead of potentially facing Rybakina in the quarterfinals, Bencic is now favored to reach the semis, and she also gets automatic entry to the Round of 16 thanks to a bye as one of the four highest seeds still entered into the draw. While less physically imposing than Rybakina or Alexandrova, Bencic plays her own brand of attacking tennis thanks to aggressive court positioning, which allows the world No. 14 to make the most of her exquisite timing and redirection skills to keep opponents on the run. The serve isn't a strength for Bencic like it is for the other two, but that hasn't prevented Bencic from posting winning head-to-head records against both Alexandrova (5-4) and Rybakina (2-1).
Sleepers to Win the 2025 Toray Open
Marketa Vondrousova: Vondrousova has a first-round rematch on tap against Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova, who defeated Vondrousova, 6-4, 6-3, at last week's Ningbo Open, which was Vondrousova's first action since sustaining a knee injury at the U.S. Open. Vondrousova was playing fantastic tennis prior to getting hurt, beating both Paolini and Rybakina in New York, and the crafty lefty has the skills to make a deep run now that she has shaken off some rust. Vondrousova's in the easier half of the draw, where the only three seeds are No. 3 Alexandrova, No. 5 Bencic and No. 8 Muchova.
Sofia Kenin: The draw reshuffling has created a nice opportunity for Kenin, who is unseeded but also doesn't have any top-80 players standing between her and the quarterfinals, where Kenin could face Alexandrova. The talented American went through a fallow period after a breakout 2020 season in which she won the Australian Open, but she has bounced back in 2025 to return to the top 30 in the rankings.
Favorite to Win the 2025 Guangzhou Open
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro: Bouzas Maneiro is ranked No. 40, which is enough to earn the No. 1 seed in this underwhelming field. No other top-50 players are in her half of the draw, with No. 42 Ann Li and No. 43 Tatjana Maria both landing in the bottom half. Bouzas Maneiro has outplayed her ranking over the past few months, with a quarterfinal showing at the Canadian Open, as well as Round of 16 results at both Wimbledon and Cincinnati among her relatively recent highlights. Her consistency off the ground and scrambling skills make the 23-year-old Spaniard tough to upset, and she isn't short on confidence. The three other seeds in Bouzas Maneiro's half are fifth-seeded potential quarterfinal opponent Alycia Parks, as well as No. 4 seed Alexandra Eala and No. 6 Yulia Putintseva.
In the Mix to Win the 2025 Guangzhou Open
Ann Li: Li's playing the best tennis of her career, sporting a career-high No. 42 ranking. The 25-year-old American reached a WTA 250 final in Cleveland just before making the round of 16 at the U.S. Open, showcasing her hard-court prowess. Li has spent most of her career skirting the line between full-time WTA Tour player and the top of the next level down, so she won't take the opportunities presented by her current top-50 spot for granted. She's the favorite to make it out of a bottom half of the draw in which the other three seeds are No. 3 Maria, No. 7 Francesca Jones and No. 8 Polina Kudermetova. Hard court is easily Maria's worst surface, while the other two are ranked outside the top 70.
Alexandra Eala: Eala being a top-four seed at this tournament is a testament to how quickly the 20-year-old Filipina has climbed the rankings, as she's up to No. 54. She broke out with a Cinderella run to the semifinals of the Miami Open, but Eala has tacked on some other impressive results, including a WTA 250 final in Eastbourne and a WTA 125 title in Guadalajara. She's at her best on faster surfaces, such as hard courts. Eala could stand to improve her consistency, but she tends to get better as tournaments unfold and has a nice opportunity to build momentum here, as her chalk quarterfinal opponent Putintseva has had a down year with a sub-.500 record. Eala has arguably the most long-term upside of anybody in this draw, and the future could be now if she harnesses her talent effectively at the Guangzhou Open.
Sleepers to Win the 2025 Guangzhou Open
Ella Seidel: The 20-year-old Seidel's future is bright, and she has been stacking wins in the latter part of the 2025 campaign. Including qualifying matches, the ascendant German has posted a 14-4 record in her last four events, with two of the four losses coming against top-30 competition. If she gets through Leolia Jeanjean in the first round and likely Putintseva in the second, Seidel could set up a battle of youngsters against Eala in the quarterfinals. Given the lack of top-end players in this draw, this is a nice opportunity for an unseeded player like the 87th-ranked Seidel to make a deep run.
Veronika Erjavec: Erjavec will be brimming with confidence after winning a pair of WTA 125 events in September. Both of those titles came on clay, but there's no substitute for match wins, and the 105th-ranked Slovakian has a nice opportunity to add to her momentum with a first-round matchup against the third-seeded Maria, who struggles on hard courts. Maria has lost first round in four of her last six events dating back to the U.S. Open. Erjavec would inherit a favorable draw if she knocks off the No. 3 seed, as the only other seed she could face prior to the semifinals is No. 8 P. Kudermetova.
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