The 2025
Japan Open in Tokyo will be the final
WTA 500 tournament of the season, and it could be among the most significant.
This year's Japan Open entry list includes players who are still fighting for a place at the 2025 WTA Finals. Five spots have already been taken, and the remaining contenders are battling for the three remaining positions.
Coco Gauff sealed her place in Riyadh by beating Belinda Bencic at the 2025 China Open. A few days later, she was joined by Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova. Keys only needed to be in the Top 20 for points because she won the 2025 Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek booked their spots at the year-end championships before the China Open began. Whether three places remain open when the Japan Open starts depends on what happens at the preceding Wuhan Open and Ningbo Opens.
Jessica Pegula, who is on the Japan Open entry list, and Mirra Andreeva are in strong positions at Nos. 6 and 7. However,
Elena Rybakina,
Jasmine Paolini, and
Ekaterina Alexandrova's battle for the final spot could go to the wire.
Those three players are all on the entry list in Tokyo. That background means those players may care more about the ranking points than the
prize money, but the financial rewards on offer remain important.
The Japan Open's prize money pot is $1,064,510. As always, that money will be distributed across the different rounds, with the highest share going to the players who perform best in Tokyo.
This year's Japan Open champion will receive $164,000 and 500 ranking points.
Qinwen Zheng defeated Sofia Kenin in the 2024 final, and she is on this year's entry list, but her participation is uncertain after she withdrew from the 2025 Wuhan Open.
Naomi Osaka, also on the 2025 entry list, Belinda Bencic, Margaret Court, and Martina Navratilova have all finished as the runner-up since the tournament debuted in 1973. This year's runner-up will receive $101,000 and 325 points.
The two defeated semifinalists will leave Tokyo $59,005 richer and with 195 points added to their total in the rankings. Predicting 2025's semifinalists is challenging because of the very strong entry list.
Last year, Bianca Andreescu, Diana Shnaider, Daria Kasatkina, and Sayaka Ishii were beaten quarterfinalists. Making it that far in 2025 will earn the four players $31,100 and 108 points.
At WTA 500 tournaments, the top four seeds receive byes into the round of 16. That luxury is not offered at 250-level events. The ATP uses the opposite approach of byes in 250s, but not at its 500-level tournaments.
That means those four seeds are guaranteed to collect at least 60 points and $15,825. Although a nice cushion, players like Pegula, Paolini, and Rybakina would expect themselves to go further than that.
$11,300 and one ranking point will be given to the 12 players who fall in the opening round. Hopefully, the final WTA 500 tournament of 2025 provides much entertainment for the fans in Tokyo and those watching worldwide.
2025 Japan Open Tokyo Prize Money & WTA Points Overview:
| Points | Prize Money |
Winner | 500 points | $164,000 |
Finalist | 325 points | $101,000 |
Semi-finalists | 195 points | $59,005 |
Quarter-finalists | 108 points | $31,100 |
2nd round | 60 points | $15,825 |
1st round | 1 point | $11,300 |