Rybakina Advances to Ningbo Open Final After Defeating Paolini
Tennis player Elena Rybakina, former Wimbledon champion, ended a five-month wait to reach another final, achieving a convincing victory with scores of 6-3 and 6-2 over Jasmine Paolini in the Ningbo Open semifinals. Rybakina displayed a dominant game, including 10 aces, although she also had to defend seven break points in an 89-minute match against Paolini, who was the second seed in the tournament held in China.After failing to advance to the final in the Citi Open, Canadian Open, and Cincinnati Masters tournaments in recent months, Rybakina will seek to add the Ningbo Open title to her record, thus adding another trophy to the WTA 500 she won on clay in Strasbourg on May 24. This victory keeps Rybakina’s hopes alive of participating in the WTA Finals at the end of the season, after Paolini lost the opportunity to secure her place in the Turin tournament with a defeat on Saturday. In the final, Rybakina will face Ekaterina Alexandrova, who is currently in the top 10 for the first time in her career. Alexandrova secured her place in the final after defeating Diana Shnaider with a score of 6-3 and 6-4.I knew the match would be very tough. Jasmine has played really well this season. She is a very tough opponent, and I knew I would have to give my best. I am happy that I stayed focused until the end and won in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina
