Rybakina Retains Title in Ningbo

World number one Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan retained her title at the Ningbo Open, beating unseeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-2 in the final. It was Rybakina's second win at this tournament in her career.

Rybakina broke in the fifth game of the first set to take the lead, then went up 4-2 with a strong cross-court forehand. The 27-year-old took the first set in 38 minutes. Fernandez started the second set well, but Rybakina raised her pressure, forced her opponent into errors, and moved ahead 2-1 to comfortably complete the match.

Rybakina won her fourth title this season and the 15th of her career, and she continues to lead the tour rankings. The Kazakh player had also won the Australian Open and US Open championships earlier this year. She has moved one step closer to guaranteeing the year-end world number one ranking.

Despite her disappointment in the final, Fernandez remains positive. The 24-year-old Canadian, who won the Singapore Open last month, said she wanted to finish the season strongly after the demanding match schedule in Ningbo. Fernandez congratulated her opponent and said they had found good form toward the end of the year and would keep working.

Rybakina's win was an important source of confidence after her disappointments in Beijing and Wuhan. She will now focus on the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this week. She will then defend her title at the WTA Finals, the season-ending event, which begins on 8 November in Indian Wells, California.