The next-to-leading order single-differential top quark-antiquark pair production cross section predictions are examined consistently using short-distance top quark mass schemes, with the evolution of the mass of the top quark performed in the MSR scheme $m_{\rm t}^{\rm MSR}(\mu)$ for scales $\mu$ below the $\overline{\rm MS}$ top quark mass $\overline{m}_{\rm t}(\overline{m}_{\rm t})$, and in the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme $\overline{m}_{\rm t}(\mu)$ for scales above.
The implementation of a mass renormalization scale independent of the strong coupling renormalization scale and factorization scale in quantum chromodynamics allows investigating independent dynamical scale variations,
and a scale choice of $R\sim 80$ GeV is demonstrated to be important for the stability of the cross-section predictions in the low top quark-antiquark pair invariant mass range.
Moreover, a choice of semi-dynamical renormalization and factorization scales is preferred, and the findings are demonstrated in a theoretically consistent extraction of the top quark MSR mass from experimental data.