Katie Boulter falls to Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open

British No. 1 Katie Boulter was eliminated from the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday after a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Sofia Kenin.

Boulter was looking to claim her third Tour title of the year, but Kenin easily moved past Boulter within 90 minutes to reach her first WTA singles final since San Diego last year.

Kenin, 25, won the Australian Open in 2020 and placed second at the French Open. That season, she reached fourth place in her career before falling down the rankings due to injuries, illness and off-field problems.

In the final in Tokyo she will face Zheng Qinwen.

“I think she’s a really good player, she has a good groundstroke and some great drop shots,” Zheng, who defeated Diana Shnaider later on Saturday, said of Kenin.

“If she’s in the final, that obviously means she’s really hard to beat in this tournament. I’ll just do my best tomorrow and see what happens.”

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.