Elena Rybakina Wins in Ningbo and Advances to the Final
Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina, former Wimbledon champion, broke a five-month drought without reaching a final, after a resounding 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open. Rybakina displayed a dominant game, including 10 aces, although she had to overcome seven break points in an 89-minute match against Paolini, who was the second seed in the Chinese tournament.After staying in the semi-final phase at the Citi Open, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters in recent months, Rybakina will seek to add the Ningbo Open title to her record, thus adding a new success to that achieved at the WTA 500 clay event in Strasbourg on May 24th. This victory keeps Rybakina’s hopes alive of participating in the end-of-season WTA Finals, after Paolini missed the opportunity to secure her place in the Turin tournament with a win on Saturday. In the final, Rybakina will face Ekaterina Alexandrova, who is in the top 10 for the first time in her career. Alexandrova defeated Diana Shnaider with a score of 6-3, 6-4.I knew the match would be very difficult. Jasmine has played very well this season. She is a very tough opponent, and I knew I would have to give my best. I am happy to have stayed focused until the end and win in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina
