A tough season for Elena Rybakina has finally eased up a little. The Kazakh star rallied from a set down to capture the 10th title of her career with a powerful 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Ningbo Open final in China. The former Wimbledon champion responded to dropping the opening set by winning nine games in a row, showcasing a dominant performance where she fired 39 winners, including 11 aces, and won 88 percent of her first-serve points to clinch her second trophy of the season.

This win significantly strengthens her position in the race to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals. The final spot is down to her and Mirra Andreeva, and with the Russian choosing to skip the Japan Open, Rybakina’s fate is in her own hands. In her post-match remarks, Elena Rybakina candidly highlighted the immense challenge of the tour’s demanding schedule, using her platform to express heartfelt gratitude to her support team.

According to The Tennis Letter on X, congratulating her opponent, she stated, “Thank you to my team for always pushing me to be better. Especially the end of the season isn’t easy, but without you, I wouldn’t be here. Thanks again. Hopefully, we can push a little more next week.”

This public acknowledgment underscores the critical role her team plays in maintaining motivation and performance levels during the grueling final stretch of the calendar, especially after her unstable coaching lineup with coach Stefano Vukov being suspended earlier and then reinstated. This triumph in Ningbo represents a crucial late-season surge for the Kazakh as she continues her push to secure a coveted spot in the WTA Finals.

“It hasn’t been an easy year for all of us… Difficult schedule. I wish you all the best for the next season,” added Rybakina, echoing a long line of players who’ve recently voiced their complaints about the scheduling. Jack Draper, Taylor Fritz, and Iga Swiatek are some of the names who have joined in, with Swiatek even stating that she may be forced to skip mandatory tournaments in the future if the status quo remains unchanged.

With this victory, Elena Rybakina’s path to qualification becomes clearer; she now only needs to reach the semi-finals of the upcoming Pan-Pacific Open in Tokyo to seal the last qualifying spot for the season finale in Riyadh. Her comments in Ningbo reflect this balanced mindset, acknowledging the difficulties of the schedule while expressing determination to keep pushing with her team’s support. However, just a few rounds earlier in Ningbo, she did speak about the WTA Finals.

Elena Rybakina’s candid remark about the WTA Finals

Before the Ningbo Open semifinals, Elena Rybakina spoke with a reporter who was interested in her thoughts on the pressure surrounding the WTA Finals. She said, “I won’t say it’s pressure. Of course, it would be nice to qualify. But I know for this I still need to win a lot of matches. Not only here, but also next week. I just try to finish the season as best as possible. Most important is to stay healthy. The season has been very long. Not that successful for me. But I still think it’s been pretty decent. Just important to stay healthy and be ready for the next one.”

Also, looking back at her straight-sets victory against Ajla Tomljanovic, Rybakina talked about her serve and how calm she felt, saying, “Today I think I served well. It’s not easy to play Ajla. Today a lot of things went my way. Also some lines which I caught. Overall happy I won in straight sets. Looking forward for tomorrow.”

In the end, Elena Rybakina took down Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarterfinals, followed by a win over Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals, and wrapped it up by beating Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final. We’ll just have to wait and see if she can really make it happen and qualify for the WTA Finals.