Preview Ningbo Open Semi-Finals: Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini lock horns in Finals Race

The WTA 500 Ningbo Open has defined its semifinalists, who will be seeking a spot in the final, in addition to crucial WTA Ranking points that will be key in the final part of the season.

The day's key match will be between Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina, as both fight for a place in the WTA Finals. The Kazakh needs a victory to close the gap on Paolini and stay in contention for a spot in Riyadh for the third consecutive year. On the other side, Russians Diana Shnaider (7th) and Ekaterina Alexandrova (4th) fulfilled their favorite status and will face each other for a place in the final.

Both Jasmine Paolini (No. 8) and Elena Rybakina (No. 9) have fulfilled their responsibilities this week and continue to add points in the final part of the season. The dispute in the Race has been close, with Paolini fighting to stay slightly ahead of Rybakina, but after the events in Wuhan (Paolini reached the semis and Rybakina the quarters), the Italian appears to have one foot in the Finals in Riyadh.

The Italian star has climbed to 7th place in the Race (4,325 points)—slightly ahead of Mirra Andreeva (4,320), who currently holds the last spot and would have no further competitions in the coming weeks (unless she requested a last-minute wildcard). Rybakina remains 9th in the Race with 4,000 points, so a win could be crucial to maintaining her classification ambitions. Even by lifting the title this week, she would be very close to securing her classification, and we would have to wait for her performance in Tokyo next week to see if she manages to get into the top 8.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion arrives with confidence, having swept past Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarterfinals (6-2, 6-0). Ahead of her is a Paolini who overcame a tough third-round battle against Belinda Bencic (5-7, 7-5, 6-3). Currently, the head-to-head favors Paolini 3-2, with their last meeting being at the WTA Finals a year ago in Riyadh.

The world No. 19 Diana Shnaider has had an irregular last few months that caused her to drop in the ranking just as she was on the verge of entering the top 10 for the first time in her career. The Russian had only accumulated one victory in her last five appearances since winning the WTA 500 Monterrey Open title.

This time, the 7th seed defeated Xinyu Wang (WC), Karolína Muchová, and Zhu Lin (WC)—the latter two coming from a set down. Shnaider had already shown her capability in Asia in the past, when she won titles in Hua Hin and Hong Kong during 2024. This time, Ningbo looks like an ideal stage for the 22-year-old player to climb back up the rankings before the end of the season. She will face a familiar foe who has just taken her place in the top 10: Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The two Russians famously contested the Monterrey final just two months ago, where Shnaider ended up taking the title—her second WTA 500 of the career. She also took revenge for their only previous duel in Charleston during this year's clay-court swing (a straight-sets victory for Alexandrova).

Alexandrova debuted in the top 10 this week at the age of 30 after reaching the round of 16 at the Wuhan Open. The Russian's efficiency has been notable with 45 wins and 22 losses so far this season, and in Ningbo, she is once again on a deep run. She defeated Yue Yuan and McCartney Kessler in straight sets to install herself in the semifinals of a WTA tournament for the 8th time this season.