Rybakina Secures Her Spot in the Ningbo Final
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has ended a five-month drought without reaching a final, achieving a convincing victory over Jasmine Paolini at the Ningbo Open. Rybakina demonstrated her power with a score of 6-3 and 6-2, securing her place in the tournament final. In a match that lasted 89 minutes, Rybakina hit 10 aces, although she had to defend against seven break points against Paolini, the second seed of the tournament.After reaching the semifinals of the Citi Open, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters in recent months, Rybakina will seek to add the Ningbo Open title to her victory at the WTA 500 clay event in Strasbourg on May 24th. This victory keeps Rybakina’s hopes alive of participating in the season-ending WTA Finals, after Paolini missed the opportunity to secure her place in the Turin tournament on Saturday. Ekaterina Alexandrova, who is in the top 10 for the first time in her career, will face Rybakina, the third seed, in the final, after defeating Diana Shnaider with a score of 6-3 and 6-4.I knew the match would be very difficult. Jasmine has played very well this season. She’s a very tough opponent, and I knew I would have to give my best. I’m happy that I stayed focused until the end and won in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina
