The draw has been confirmed ahead of the 2024 Ningbo Open which is due to take place between 14-20 October, 2024 in China and is a WTA 500 tournament with one of the most stacked fields for a tournament of this type all year.
Headlined initially by Jessica Pegula, she has since withdrawn from the tournament. Instead Jasmine Paolini leads the line and could face Katie Boulter in the second round. The Italian was one of a few to already qualify for the WTA Finals in Riyadh so is merely playing for ranking.
This in comparison to a lot of the main seeds including two in particular being Qinwen Zheng and Emma Navarro who are second and third seed in Ningbo. They will face tough tests in their openers. Especially the Chinese ace who will take on Karolina Muchova. The Czech ace is a danger given that she is still unseeded only just and has just come off a Beijing final and superb US Open run.
Navarro could face Katerina Siniakova or Magda Linette and sits in a simpler section with Beatriz Haddad Maia being the main seed. Other top ties include Anna Kalinskaya v Anastasia Potapova, Barbora Krejcikova is fourth seed and could face Ekaterina Alexandrova.
While close friends on the tour as evidenced by her vlog, Daria Kasatkina could face Mirra Andreeva in the second round. Paula Badosa also takes on Diana Shnaider. The rising Russian is defacto defending champion as such as Ons Jabeur won't return to defend it and Shnaider lost in last year's final 6-2, 6-1. So returns aiming for the crown albeit with a tough test this time around.
With WTA Finals spots firmly on the line, a great field and some tantalising first and second round ties, Ningbo Open is certainly one to watch in the next week or so when Wuhan concludes.