The race to the PIF WTA Finals in Riyadh is heating up! This week's WTA 500 AUX Ningbo Open in China is a crucial battleground, with several top players vying for a spot in the prestigious season-ending tournament. Mirra Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini, and Elena Rybakina are all in the mix, separated by a mere 407 points in the WTA Race standings.
The stakes are incredibly high, as only two spots remain open for the Finals. One of these talented players will unfortunately miss out on the Top 8 and will be designated as the first alternate.
All three contenders are competing in Ningbo, where the action kicked off on Monday. They've received byes into the second round, giving them a slight advantage as they aim for the 500 points awarded to the champion.
Adding to the excitement, Paolini and Rybakina are also scheduled to participate in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan, next week. This is the final WTA 500 tournament of the 2025 season before the Finals begin on November 1st in Saudi Arabia.
On Day 1, several matches set the stage for an exciting week. Diana Shnaider, seeded seventh, secured a victory against wild-card Wang Xiyu after a match lasting 1 hour and 51 minutes.
Belinda Bencic, the No. 6 seed, showcased her dominance by defeating Magda Linette of Poland with a score of 6-3, 6-2 in just 1 hour and 34 minutes. Shnaider also had to overcome a deficit, coming back from 0-3 in the first set and 0-2 in the second to defeat Wang, marking her first win in three encounters against the Chinese player.
In other matches, Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine triumphed over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan with a score of 6-4, 6-2, in a match that lasted 1 hour and 39 minutes, recording her first tour-level win since reaching the Montréal 3rd-round in July. American McCartney Kessler swiftly defeated her compatriot, Sofia Kenin, a former Australian Open champion, in a mere 53 minutes, dropping only a single game.
Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey also staged a comeback, overcoming a 0-2 deficit in the third set to defeat Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus with a score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. This victory gives Sonmez a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head record, following their 2 hour 10 minute match.
But here's where it gets interesting: British No. 1 Emma Raducanu is back in action after recovering from an illness that forced her to retire in Wuhan. She's set to compete in Ningbo on Tuesday.
Raducanu had to withdraw from her first-round match in Wuhan against Ann Li due to the extreme heat, trailing 6-1, 4-1. She later shared on social media that she was feeling better after visiting the doctor.
Raducanu is making her debut at the Ningbo Open and is determined to finish the season strong, with the goal of being seeded for the Australian Open in January. She emphasizes the need to push harder physically and mentally at this stage of the season.
Raducanu faces a challenging draw, starting with a match against local wild-card Zhu Lin. If she wins, she'll face Andreeva, the top seed and last year’s runner-up, in the second round. She is also scheduled to compete in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and will conclude her season at the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
What are your thoughts? Do you think Raducanu can make a strong comeback? Who do you think will secure a spot in the PIF WTA Finals? Share your predictions in the comments below!
