Naomi Osaka pulls out of Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo due to illness on Thursday night. / Reuters
by James Rainey
The Pan Pacific Open is where the top young talent in the world can be found. It’s a tournament that has historically been a tough place for veterans to play and it shows in how it’s treated by the players who come through.
The top players in the world all play over the top 16 players in the world and then the top 128 players in the world. You’ll see names like Naomi Osaka, Marin Cilic, Rafael Nadal, Janko Tipsarevic, David Ferrer and more all play in this tournament. Players like Kvitka, Davenport, Tiafoe, Guo, and Monfils also play, but this tournament is primarily known for the talent that comes through after their names are called.
It’s considered one of the toughest tournaments in the world, and this year was no exception.
This was the last tournament of the year where the top 16 on the ATP and WTA Tours would be played in a single tournament and the top players would play each other in a knockout playoff as they moved on to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Osaka, Osaka, Osaka was the name of her final round match, where she was forced to retire due to an illness. She lost 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 to Janko Tipsarevic.
And Osaka was only one of many who were forced to withdraw. This tournament featured many of the top talents who have been on the rise to world prominence in recent months and some of the game’s biggest stars. Here are the four biggest names who had to pull out.
Monfils
The French player was already ranked number two in the world after winning the Australian Open in January, but he had his number announced when he faced off against the #1 player in the world, Rafael Nadal. Monfils lost 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. But the upset wasn’t enough to keep the French player off the top of the ATP Rankings, as he was just one of seven men to have their ranking raised because of him.
