World No. 1, Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, is still chasing the Ningbo Open title in China. In the final, she will face a Canadian player, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the official WTA website.

In the semifinal, the Kazakhstani player defeated Russia's Diana Shnaider 6-3, 7-5. The match lasted one hour and 35 minutes.

In the first set, Rybakina needed 11 set points to close it out in her favor.

In the second set, the Kazakhstani also took the lead. However, Shnaider managed to level the score at 5-5. Rybakina again broke her opponent's serve and saw the match through to victory.

With this result, Elena Rybakina secured prize money of $114,500, as well as 325 ranking points. The tournament's total prize fund is $1,206,446. The winner will earn $185,500 and 500 WTA ranking points.

In the final, the Kazakhstani tennis player will face Canada's Leylah Fernandez, who beat the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzková 6-3, 7-5 in the other semifinal.

For Rybakina, the upcoming final will be the 28th of her professional career. The two players have met five times before. The Kazakhstani player won three of those matches.

Elena Rybakina is the defending champion in Ningbo. In 2025, she won the title here, defeating Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final. The Kazakhstani player now has a chance to defend last year's title.

Earlier, it was reported that Rybakina hit her 80th WTA 500 match victory in the Ningbo campaign.

ChinaElena RybakinaKazakhstanSportTennis