Rybakina wins Ningbo Open

World No. 1 Elena Rybakina won the Ningbo Open title, beating Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-2 in a final that lasted 73 minutes. The Kazakh player won her fourth title of the season, raising her career total to 15. Rybakina, who also won the most matches of the tournament, closed out the first set in 38 minutes.

The win came after disappointing results in Beijing and Wuhan, and it gave Rybakina a boost in confidence. She took a big step toward finishing the year as world No. 1. After opening the season with the Australian Open title and later adding the US Open trophy, the player collected important points to stay at the top of the world rankings.

Rybakina will now focus on the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She will also defend her title at the season's final tournament, the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, which begins on November 8.

Fernandez said she was disappointed by the result but was determined to finish the season strongly. The 24-year-old Canadian, who won the Singapore Open last month, congratulated her opponent and promised her team a strong end-of-year performance.