Bencic claims 10th career title with Pan Pacific Open victory

TOKYO (AP) — Belinda Bencic claimed her 10th career title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Linda Noskova in the final of the WTA's Pan Pacific Open.

Ten years after her previous appearance in the final of the Tokyo tournament, Bencic dominated her Czech rival throughout Sunday's final, breaking Noskova's serve three times on the way to a comfortable win in one hour and 22 minutes.

Tokyo has provided recent happy memories for the Swiss who won the Olympic singles gold medal and doubles silver in Tokyo four years ago.

“It was wonderful playing in front of you guys,” Bencic said after the match. “The last time I won here was the Tokyo Olympics when it was an empty stadium, so it was a completely different atmosphere, but it was great to play in front of you guys. I love to play in Japan, so I’m super happy to finally win this tournament.”

It had been an energy-sapping run to the final for Bencic, who had spent 5 hours and 23 minutes on court over the previous two days, as she triumphed through back-to-back three-set matches in the quarterfinal and then semifinal against Sofia Kenin.

Noskova, meanwhile, had spent just 35 minutes on court across the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds in Tokyo, advancing via a retirement and a walkover when WTA Finals bound Elena Rybakina pulled out of their semifinal, citing a back problem.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, right, and Czech Republic's Linda Noskova, left, pose with their trophies after the Pan Pacific Open women's tennis tournament at Ariake Coliseum, in Tokyo, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Czech Republic's Linda Noskova plays a shot against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic during the women's singles final at the Pan Pacific Open WTA 500 tennis tournament at Ariake Coliseum, in Tokyo, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic plays a shot against Czech Republic's Linda Noskova during the women's singles final at the Pan Pacific Open WTA 500 tennis tournament at Ariake Coliseum, in Tokyo, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic celebrates after winning against Czech Republic's Linda Noskova in the final match of the Pan Pacific Open women's tennis tournament at Ariake Coliseum, in Tokyo, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic celebrates after winning against Czech Republic's Linda Noskova in the final match of the Pan Pacific Open women's tennis tournament at Ariake Coliseum, in Tokyo, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court Justice on Thursday ordered the transfer of former President Jair Bolsonaro from the federal police headquarters in Brasilia to a much bigger cell with an outside area in the Papuda Penitentiary Complex, also in the capital.

The transfer was described as a move to a facility with “more favorable conditions” for high-profile detainees.

Since November, Bolsonaro has been carrying out a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup despite his 2022 electoral defeat. His lawyers have been pushing for a transfer to house arrest on medical grounds.

Michelle Bolsonaro, his wife, and his sons have regularly said that Bolsonaro is being mistreated and not getting adequate medical attention.

In the court decision, Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied the accusations. “Regrettably and falsely, there has been a systematic attempt to delegitimize the regular and lawful execution of the custodial sentence of Jair Messias Bolsonaro, which has been carried out with full respect for human dignity."

Bolsonaro had been in a 12-square-meter room with a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a TV set and a desk, and Moraes ordered Bolsonaro's transfer to an even more comfortable situation. He determined that Bolsonaro be transferred to a 54-square-meter room with a 10-square-meter outside area that he can access at will.

Following the transfer, Bolsonaro will also have increased time for family visits and physiotherapy equipment such as a treadmill and bicycle will be installed. The new area resembles an apartment, with a double bed, a kitchen, a laundry, a living room and an outdoor area.

The Supreme Court’s press office said the transfer had already happened.

Since starting his sentence, Bolsonaro has made several trips to a nearby hospital, most recently after falling out of bed and hitting his head.

Moraes decided that Bolsonaro can have “full assistance, 24 (twenty-four) hours a day, from previously registered private doctors, without the need for prior notification.”

Moraes also ordered a medical examination to assess Bolsonaro's health and determine whether he needs to be transferred to a penitentiary hospital.

Bolsonaro has been hospitalized multiple times since being stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election.

The former president and several of his allies were convicted by a panel of Supreme Court justices for attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democracy following his 2022 election defeat.

The plot included plans to kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice de Moraes. The plan also involved encouraging an insurrection in early 2023.

The former president was also found guilty of charges including leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.

Bolsonaro has always denied wrongdoing.

In Thursday’s court order, Moraes said that Bolsonaro was convicted of extremely serious crimes and that his custodial sentence was not a “hotel stay or a vacation colony” as statements from Bolsonaro’s sons’ cited in the decision “mistakenly seem to demand.”

FILE - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stands at the entrance of his home while he is under house arrest in Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova, File)