Canada’s Leylah Fernandez advanced to the semifinals of the Ningbo Open after defeating Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Fernandez leveled her career head-to-head record against Alexandrova at 3-3 with her second victory over the Russian in as many weeks. The 24-year-old player from Laval, Que., displayed dominance after losing the first set, securing four breaks while not conceding any over the following two sets. Fernandez, who clinched her sixth WTA title in Singapore last month, has won 12 of her last 15 matches.
In the upcoming semifinals, Fernandez will face Marie Bouzkova, whom she lost to in their only prior encounter at the 2019 Rogers Cup in Toronto. Meanwhile, top-seeded Elena Rybakina narrowly avoided an upset against qualifier Katarzyna Kawa in the quarterfinals, eventually winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Rybakina will now meet Diana Shnaider in the semifinals to defend her Ningbo title.
Kawa, ranked 128th, had previously defeated Belinda Bencic and challenged Rybakina with three service breaks in a tightly contested second set. Sixth-seeded Shnaider overcame fourth-seeded American Iva Jovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 to advance to the semifinals and aim for a spot in the Ningbo final, having been the runner-up in 2023.
Additionally, Karolina Muchova secured the final spot in the season-ending WTA Finals after Marta Kostyuk retired due to wrist pain and Iga Swiatek withdrew with a thigh injury during the Ningbo Open.
