Tennis
Rybakina Defends Ningbo Title With Straight-Set Win Over Fernandez
The world No. 1 won 6–2, 6–2 in 76 minutes for her fourth singles title of the season.
Elena Rybakina beat Leylah Fernandez 6–2, 6–2 on Sunday to defend her Ningbo Open title and collect a tour-leading fourth singles title of the 2026 season. The world No. 1 finished the final in 1 hour, 16 minutes.
Rybakina broke Fernandez twice in each set and did not lose serve. She saved all four break points she faced and converted four of her five opportunities on the Canadian’s serve, according to Tennis Canada.
The title was the 15th of Rybakina’s singles career and her seventh at WTA 500 level. She also won the Australian Open, Stuttgart and the US Open this season.
Rybakina has now won eight consecutive matches in Ningbo across her two appearances at the tournament. Sunday also brought her third consecutive tour-level victory over Fernandez, extending her lead in their head-to-head series to 4–2.
Fernandez had reached the final by beating Marie Bouzkova in straight sets Saturday. It was her second final during this year’s Asian swing after winning in Singapore in September.
Sources: WTA’s official Ningbo final report; Tennis Canada’s match account.
