Rybakina readies for title defence at Ningbo Open in final with Fernandez

Elena Rybakina defeated sixth seed Diana Shnaider of Russia 6-3, 7-5 in the Ningbo Open semifinals. The defending champion and world number one will face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in Sunday’s final after Fernandez beat Czech player Marie Bouzkova by the same score. Australian and US Open champion Rybakina showed flashes of her best form after a bruising defeat in Beijing and a foot injury forced her to withdraw from Wuhan. The Ningbo title clash comes ahead of next month’s WTA Finals.