Rybakina retains Ningbo crown as Siniakova wins Japan Open
Elena Rybakina beat Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-2 to defend her title in Ningbo, while Katerina Siniakova won the Japan Open in Osaka.
Elena Rybakina retained the Ningbo Open title with a 6-2 6-2 win over Leylah Fernandez. Katerina Siniakova defeated Ashlyn Krueger 6-1 6-0 to win the Japan Open in Osaka.
Key takeaways
- Rybakina won 6-2 6-2 against unseeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the Ningbo Open final on Sunday.
- The victory was Rybakina's first title as world number one.
- Siniakova beat USA's Ashlyn Krueger 6-1 6-0 in the Japan Open final on Sunday.
- Siniakova claimed her sixth career singles title and first since 2023.
- Rybakina will now play at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Elena Rybakina retained the Ningbo Open crown by beating unseeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-2 in Sunday's final, Sportstar reported. The win gave the Kazakh her first title as world number one, just ahead of next month's WTA Finals.
Rybakina's path to the title
Rybakina, the top seed, secured the break she needed in the fifth game of the first set, using her signature power, and followed it with a stinging crosscourt backhand winner to lead 4-2. She sealed the opening set in just 38 minutes. Fernandez, ranked 30th, started the second set well, but Rybakina weathered the early pressure, stepped up her game, forced an error and broke to go 2-1 ahead. The three-time Grand Slam champion then coasted to the finish.
Season context and next steps
The title is a well timed boost after disappointing runs in Beijing and Wuhan for Rybakina. The win moved her a long way toward finishing the year ranked number one. She took the Australian Open and US Open titles this season to reach the top spot. Rybakina now turns to this week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo before beginning her title defence at the season-ending finale in Indian Wells from November 8. The WTA Finals will run from 8 to 15 November in Indian Wells, according to wtatennis.com.
Siniakova wins Japan Open
In Tokyo, Czechia's Katerina Siniakova took down USA's Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-0 to claim her first singles title in three years at the Japan Open on Sunday. Siniakova broke the 22-year-old American's serve six times in just 64 minutes to claim her sixth career singles title and first since winning the Jiangxi Open in Nanchang, China, in 2023. The Japan Open is part of the WTA 250 tournaments of the 2026 WTA Tour.
Final results from the two tournaments
Tournament | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
Ningbo Open | Elena Rybakina | Leylah Fernandez | 6-2 6-2 |
Japan Open | Katerina Siniakova | Ashlyn Krueger | 6-1 6-0 |
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