Toray Pan Pacific Open 2026 Day 2: Two Lucky Byes as the Last 16 Take Shape
The Toray Pan Pacific Open 2026 Day 2 delivered an unusual twist in Tokyo as two lucky losers reached the Round of 16 without playing a main-draw match, while eight completed singles encounters determined the remaining places in the last 16.
Kamilla Rakhimova and Kimberly Birrell inherited first-round byes following the withdrawals of seeded players Belinda Bencic and Maja Chwalinska. Their unexpected opportunities became one of the tournament’s most intriguing early developments.
On court, Australian qualifier Maya Joint eliminated sixth seed Sorana Cirstea, Naomi Osaka advanced past Jasmine Paolini, and teenage wildcard Mia Pohankova earned a second-round meeting with the Japanese star.
Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez secured a rematch with Elise Mertens, Yulia Putintseva booked a meeting with top seed Elena Rybakina, and Alexandra Eala prepared for her next challenge against Talia Gibson.
From unexpected opportunities to decisive victories, Tokyo’s second day completed the Round of 16 lineup and set the stage for the tournament’s next chapter.
Toray Pan Pacific Open 2026 Day 2: Two Lucky Byes
Sometimes, losing in qualifying means the end of a tournament.
For Rakhimova and Birrell, it meant waiting for another opportunity.
Rakhimova, representing Uzbekistan, defeated Shiho Tsujioka in her opening qualifying match before losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6–4, 6–4.
Birrell, representing Australia, defeated Aoi Ito before falling to Daria Kasatkina 6–3, 6–4.
Ordinarily, those qualifying-final defeats would have ended their singles campaigns.
But Tokyo’s draw had two unexpected vacancies.
Defending champion Belinda Bencic, seeded fourth, withdrew with a right ankle injury. Second seed Maja Chwalinska withdrew with a left thigh injury.
Rakhimova replaced Bencic.
Birrell replaced Chwalinska.
Because the vacant positions retained their first-round byes under the applicable replacement procedures, both lucky losers entered directly into the Round of 16.
Importantly, neither player inherited the withdrawn competitor’s seeding.
And neither received a walkover victory over the withdrawn player.
They simply occupied the vacant positions in the draw.
Their First Main-Draw Tests
The two lucky losers now face different challenges.
Rakhimova vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
Alexandrova earned her place in the second round by defeating Ann Li 6–4, 6–4 on Tuesday.
Rakhimova, meanwhile, will make her first main-draw appearance against an opponent who already has a completed singles victory in Tokyo.
Birrell vs. Alycia Parks
Parks advanced on Monday by defeating Wang Xinyu 6–1, 7–6(7), saving three set points in the second set.
Birrell enters their meeting without having played a main-draw match.
The contrasting routes make both encounters worth watching.
For Rakhimova and Birrell, the second chance is real.
What they do with it will be decided on court.
Maya Joint Eliminates Sixth Seed Sorana Cirstea
While two lucky losers advanced through vacancies in the draw, Maya Joint continued earning her progress through victories.
The Australian qualifier defeated sixth seed Sorana Cirstea 6–3, 7–6(4) in one hour and 32 minutes.
Joint took the opening set before securing the second-set tiebreak 7–4.
It was Tuesday’s only defeat of a seeded player.
The result also removed the final active seed from the tournament’s second quarter.
Joint’s Tokyo campaign began in qualifying, where she defeated Viktorija Golubic and Mai Hontama.
She has now won three matches at the tournament.
Her next opponent is Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, who defeated Diane Parry 7–5, 6–1.
With neither player seeded, the winner will move into the quarterfinals from a section already reshaped by Bencic’s withdrawal.
Watch Joint vs Cirstea Match Highlights:
Naomi Osaka Passes Her Opening Test
Naomi Osaka began her Tokyo campaign with a straight-sets victory over Jasmine Paolini.
The seventh seed won 6–3, 7–6(4) in one hour and 37 minutes.
After taking the first set, Osaka secured the second in a tiebreak, winning it 7–4.
The result reversed the outcome of their previous documented meeting in Miami in 2025, when Paolini defeated Osaka in three sets.
Their tour-level head-to-head now stands at one victory apiece.
Osaka’s next opponent presents a different challenge.
She will face 18-year-old Slovak wildcard Mia Pohankova, who produced one of Tuesday’s most convincing victories.
For Osaka, the first hurdle is cleared.
For Pohankova, a much bigger stage awaits.
Watch Osaka vs Paolini Match Highlights:
Mia Pohankova Wins the Teenagers’ Contest
Two junior Grand Slam champions met in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Only one could advance.
Mia Pohankova defeated Czech qualifier Tereza Valentova 6–1, 6–4 in just one hour and 11 minutes.
Pohankova, who turned 18 on October 21, won the Wimbledon girls’ singles championship in 2025.
Valentova, 19, won the Roland Garros girls’ singles title in 2024 and subsequently reached the 2025 Osaka WTA singles final.
Both arrived with notable junior achievements.
But Pohankova was the stronger player on Tuesday’s scoreboard.
Her reward is a Round of 16 meeting with Osaka.
It also keeps our Teenagers storyline alive after 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic was eliminated by Alexandra Eala on Monday.
The next question is whether Pohankova can extend her Tokyo campaign against a former Grand Slam champion.
Leylah Fernandez Sets Up Elise Mertens Rematch
Leylah Fernandez continued her Asian swing with a 6–2, 6–4 victory over Japanese wildcard Himeno Sakatsume.
The Canadian completed the match in one hour and 34 minutes.
Her next opponent is familiar.
Elise Mertens.
The two recently met in the opening round at Ningbo, where Fernandez recovered from losing the first set to win 2–6, 6–3, 7–5.
Now they meet again in Tokyo.
Unlike the speculative matchups that appear in tournament previews, this rematch is confirmed.
The winner will advance to the quarterfinals.
And depending on other results, another Ningbo storyline could emerge later in the tournament.
For now, Fernandez and Mertens have unfinished business of their own.
Watch Fernandez vs Sakatsume Match Highlights:
Yulia Putintseva Earns a Meeting With Elena Rybakina
Yulia Putintseva needed three sets to overcome Maria Sakkari.
The Kazakh qualifier won 6–4, 3–6, 6–1 in two hours and 27 minutes.
Sakkari responded after losing the opening set, but Putintseva took six of the seven games in the decider.
The victory sets up an all-Kazakhstan Round of 16 meeting with top seed Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina received a first-round bye and did not play on Tuesday.
The matchup now provides one of the most intriguing contests in the upper half of the draw.
Watch Putintseva vs Sakkari Match Highlights:
Sasnovich Completes Rain-Delayed Victory
Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Nikola Bartunkova finally completed the match postponed by Monday’s rain.
Sasnovich prevailed 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–3 in two hours and 40 minutes.
It was the longest of Tuesday’s eight completed singles matches.
Bartunkova claimed the second-set tiebreak 7–5, but Sasnovich recovered to win the deciding set.
The qualifier now faces third seed Diana Shnaider.
That result also confirms the other Round of 16 matchup in Alexandra Eala’s section of the draw.
Alexandra Eala’s Next Test Is Confirmed
Alexandra Eala did not play on Tuesday.
But her next assignment is now firmly in place.
The eighth seed will face Australia’s Talia Gibson in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.
Both players advanced convincingly on Monday.
Eala defeated Mika Stojsavljevic 6–1, 6–2.
Gibson defeated Daria Kasatkina 6–0, 7–5.
Their meeting is scheduled for not before 5:00 p.m. Wednesday in Tokyo, equivalent to 9:00 a.m. in Paris.
A potential quarterfinal rematch between Eala and Shnaider remains possible.
But both players must first win their respective Round of 16 matches.
Eala faces Gibson.
Shnaider faces Sasnovich.
Only then can that Ningbo storyline return.
What’s Next: Tokyo’s Round of 16 Begins
The complete Round of 16 draw is now established.
Five seeded players remain:
- Elena Rybakina [1]
- Diana Shnaider [3]
- Elise Mertens [5]
- Naomi Osaka [7]
- Alexandra Eala [8]
Wednesday, October 28, features four singles matches on Center Court.
10:30 a.m. Tokyo
Kamilla Rakhimova vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
Not before 11:30 a.m. Tokyo
Cristina Bucsa vs. Maya Joint
Following the preceding match
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs. Diana Shnaider
Not before 5:00 p.m. Tokyo
Alexandra Eala vs. Talia Gibson
The remaining Round of 16 pairings are:
- Elena Rybakina vs. Yulia Putintseva
- Leylah Fernandez vs. Elise Mertens
- Naomi Osaka vs. Mia Pohankova
- Alycia Parks vs. Kimberly Birrell
Those four matches are not listed on Wednesday’s singles schedule.
All eight Round of 16 encounters are confirmed, but no quarterfinalist has yet been determined.
Complete Day 2 Women’s Singles Results
Toray Pan Pacific Open 2026 — Tuesday, October 27
- Maya Joint [Q] def. Sorana Cirstea [6] 6–3, 7–6(4)
- Yulia Putintseva [Q] def. Maria Sakkari 6–4, 3–6, 6–1
- Leylah Fernandez def. Himeno Sakatsume [WC] 6–2, 6–4
- Naomi Osaka [7] def. Jasmine Paolini 6–3, 7–6(4)
- Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Ann Li 6–4, 6–4
- Cristina Bucsa def. Diane Parry 7–5, 6–1
- Aliaksandra Sasnovich [Q] def. Nikola Bartunkova 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–3
- Mia Pohankova [WC] def. Tereza Valentova [Q] 6–1, 6–4
Q: Qualifier
WC: Wildcard
LL: Lucky loser
All eight scheduled women’s singles matches were completed.
No retirements or walkovers were recorded among Tuesday’s completed matches.
The Bigger Picture
Tokyo’s first two days have demonstrated that there is more than one way for a tournament story to develop.
Rakhimova and Birrell lost in qualifying, yet received second opportunities through withdrawals.
Joint fought through qualifying and then eliminated a seeded opponent.
Pohankova earned a meeting with Osaka.
Fernandez secured another encounter with Mertens.
And Eala’s next test is waiting.
The first round is over.
The opportunities are real.
Now the remaining 16 players must turn them into quarterfinal places.
Related Stories
- Toray Pan Pacific Open — Tournament Hub
- Introduction — Five Stories Before Tokyo Begins
- Seedings & Draw — The First Tests and Roads Ahead
- Day 1 — Bencic and Chwalinska Withdraw as Eala Advances
- Day 2 — Two Lucky Byes as the Last 16 Take Shape
- Day 3 — Eala Roars Back to Set Shnaider Rematch
- Day 4 — Rybakina Secures Year-End No. 1 as Pohankova Stuns Osaka
- Day 5 — Pohankova Reaches Her First WTA Semifinal
- Day 6 — Shnaider and Fernandez Set Up the Final
- Day 7 — Shnaider Regroups to Beat Fernandez for the Title
- Tournament Wrap-Up — Shnaider’s Title and Five Defining Stories