The race to make the WTA Finals looks set to go all the way to the wire.
Earlier this week, Jasmine Paolini confirmed her place at the Finals, with the final place now set to go to either Mirra Andreeva or Elena Rybakina.
Andreeva made a tearful exit in Wuhan, and it’s not actually clear whether she has a real desire to play in the Riyadh-based event anyway.
The suggestion has been made that it could do Andreeva good to miss out on the event, and now her place remains uncertain after Rybakina won the Ningbo Open.
Rybakina overcame a one-set deficit to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets to keep alive her WTA Finals hopes.
- READ MORE: Jasmine Paolini reacts after tough match
What Elena Rybakina needs to do to qualify for the WTA Finals
Rybakina is now tantalisingly close to ensuring she takes her place at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
With Andreeva rejecting a wildcard for the Tokyo event, which gets underway this week, it’s now in the hands of Rybakina to land the final space.
After winning in Ningbo, Rybakina now just needs to win two matches at the event to confirm her place in Riyadh and leave Andreeva as the first reserve.
Rybakina has had a very impressive year and the second title in 2025 has seen her move extremely close to her third visit to the WTA Finals.
- Two titles in 2025
- Sixth top 10 win of 2025
- 26th top 10 win
- 52nd win of 2025
Rybakina can make waves at the WTA Finals
The Kazakhstan performer has two previous encounters with the event, which always takes place in November, losing in the group stages on both occasions.
This time, the relentless nature of Rybakina in the second half of 2025 means she will bring a bit of form to the event, and perhaps she can cause a bit of a stir.
Rybakina has settled into the year well, and she will now be determined to keep building momentum going into the Australian Open in January.
First, Rybakina must take care of business in Tokyo, but a place in the WTA Finals now looks very achievable which would provide a blow to Andreeva.
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