Rybakina retains Ningbo Open with 6-2, 6-2 win over Fernandez

Why the final is being searched

Her name is in the headlines after the Ningbo final on Sunday 25 October 2026 [1]. The match was short. Elena Rybakina beat unseeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour and 16 minutes [2]. Fernandez went into the final ranked 30th in the world [1]. The top seed therefore faced an unseeded opponent in the final [1] [3].

The final and the road to it

Rybakina was the world No. 1 and the top seed in Ningbo [3]. In the semifinal on Saturday she beat sixth-seeded Diana Shnaider 6-3, 7-5 [3]. Fernandez reached the final with the same score against Marie Bouzkova [3].

The win was her fourth title of the 2026 season, the most by any player this year, and her 15th overall [2] [1]. Reuters, carried by The Star, described it as her first trophy as world No. 1 [1]. The champion takes 500 ranking points and $185,500 [3]. She was defending those points as the reigning champion [3] [4].

Rybakina linked the result to last year's event. "Last year, I started to play really well from this tournament," she said after the match [2]. The Star's headline describes the result as a retention of the Ningbo crown [1].

Defending a title from 2025

This was a defence. Rybakina first won Ningbo on 19 October 2025, beating Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 [4]. That was her 10th career WTA singles title and her second of the 2025 season [4]. After that final she thanked her team "for always pushing me to be better" [4].

Her 2026 season already had two majors in it. She won the Australian Open on 31 January, beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and hitting 47 aces across the tournament [6]. In September she beat Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the US Open final, her first US Open title and her third Grand Slam singles title [5]. Sabalenka was the two-time defending champion in New York [5]. The WTA reported that she earned AUD 4.1 million (USD 2.75 million) during that Australian Open run [6].

What comes next

The next question is the year-end No. 1 ranking. A Ningbo title would go a long way toward securing it [3], and the win moved her closer to that goal [1]. The US Open result was also tied to the rankings. Rybakina was set to replace Sabalenka as world No. 1 when the next rankings were released [5], and at Ningbo she was already the top seed [3].

Her next event is the season finale, which the Star's report places next month, ahead of the WTA Finals [1]. Watch whether she carries the top ranking into Indian Wells, where the season finale starts on 8 November [1].