Paolini overcomes Bencic to reach Ningbo semis, Rybakina also through

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NINGBO OPEN QUARTERFINALS – WINS FOR JASMINE PAOLINI, ELENA RYBAKINA AND EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA SHOWS: NINGBO, CHINA (OCTOBER 17, 2025) (WTA/DAZN – See restrictions) BELINDA BENCIC (SWITZERLAND / WHITE CAP) V JASMINE PAOLINI (ITALY) 1. TOSS FIRST SET 2. BELINDA BENCIC WINS POINT WITH FOREHAND WINNER 3. JASMINE PAOLINI HITS FOREHAND WINNER 4. BENCIC TAKES SET AS PAOLINI SHANKS BACKHAND RETURN / CROWD CHEERING SECOND SET 5. PAOLINI’S WINS POINT AS HER BACKHAND FALLS WIDE OF BENCIC’S REACH 6. PAOLINI’S TEAM CHEERING 7. FOREHAND WINNER BY PAOLINI 8. PAOLINI TAKES SET AS BENCIC NETS BACKHAND / PAOLINI CELEBRATING THIRD SET 9. FOREHAND WINNER BY PAOLINI 10. PAOLINI WINS MATCH AS BENCIC NETS BACKHAND RETURN 11. PAOLINI CELEBRATING WITH SMILES 12. PLAYERS EMBRACE AT THE NET ELENA RYBAKINA (KAZAKHSTAN /WHITE DRESS) V AJLA TOMLJANOVIC (AUSTRALIA / NAVY BLUE) 13. TOSS FIRST SET 14. ELENA RYBAKINA HITS FOREHAND WINNER 15. AJLA TOMLJANOVIC HITS RETURN WINNER 16. RYBAKINA TAKES SET WITH BIG FOREHAND SECOND SET 17. RYBAKINA HITS FOREHAND WINNER 18. BACKHAND PUTAWAY BY RYBAKINA / CROWD CHEERING 19. FOREHAND WINNER BY RYBAKINA 20. RYBAKINA WINS MATCH AS TOMLJANOVIC DOUBLE FAULTS 21. PLAYERS MEET AT THE NET AND SHAKE HANDS WITH UMPIRE 22. VARIOUS OF RYBAKINA WAVING TO CROWD EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA (RUSSIA/WHITE DRESS) V MCCARTNEY KESSLER (USA / BLUE DRESS) FIRST SET 23. BACKHAND WINNER BY KESSLER 24. EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA TAKES SET AS MCCARTNEY KESSLER NETS BACKHAND SECOND SET 25. FOREHAND WINNER BY KESSLER 26. BACKHAND VOLLEY BY KESSLER 27. ALEXANDROVA WINS MATCH AS KESSLER’S BACKHAND GOES WIDE 28. PLAYERS MEET AT THE NET 29. ALEXANDROVA TAKING APPLAUSE AND WAVING TO CROWD STORY: Italian second seed Jasmine Paolini kept her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals alive with a gritty comeback win over Belinda Bencic, beating Switzerland's Tokyo Olympic gold medallist 5-7 7-5 6-3 in the Ningbo Open quarter-finals on Friday (October 17). Paolini will face third-seed Elena Rybakina in the semis, after the Russian-born Kazakh took less than an hour to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2 6-0 later in the day. Twice Grand Slam finalist Paolini needs a win over Rybakina in the last four to qualify for next month's WTA Finals in Riyadh. The contest against Bencic at the WTA 500 hardcourt tournament, which lasted a marathon three hours and 22 minutes, marked the longest match of Paolini's season. Bencic, 28, served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but was unable to close it out. Her momentum was further interrupted in the deciding set when she took a medical time-out due to a thigh issue while trailing 4-3. Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys have all qualified for the season-ending championship of the WTA Tour in Riyadh, with two spots still up for grabs. Rybakina also remained in contention for a place at the WTA Finals, as she landed seven aces while a struggling Tomljanovic made nine double faults. Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina has now won 50 matches on the tour this year and qualified for seven semi-finals. Russian fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova brushed aside American McCartney Kessler 6-3 6-3. Alexandrova will next face the winner of the clash between local favourite Zhu Lin and seventh seed Diana Shnaider. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

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