World number one Elena Rybakina faced few difficulties in retaining her Ningbo Open title as she overcame Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-2 in Sunday's final.

Rybakina only needed one hour and 16 minutes to sweep the Canadian aside in their sixth WTA Tour meeting, as she improved her head-to-head lead to 4-2.

Neither player was completely comfortable on their own serve in the first set, but Rybakina saved the only two break points she faced – both of which came in game two – and took the two she carved out for herself.

Another break three games into the second set strengthened Rybakina's grip, and after holding in a four-deuce fourth game, the top seed broke one more time to seal the deal.

"I'm very happy and definitely for me, Ningbo is already a special place," Rybakina told reporters.

"Last year, I started to play really well from this tournament and all the way afterwards, so hopefully it's going to give me more motivation and more good energy to continue this season and start the next one.

"I feel like I was getting better with each match this week and today it was a really solid performance from my side. I hope that next week I can continue as well."

Felt so nice, had to do it twice  #NingboOpen https://t.co/46wufZTtEh

— wta (@WTA) October 25, 2026

Elsewhere, the Japan Open final saw Katerina Siniakova dominate Ashlyn Krueger, winning 10 consecutive games at one point en route to a 6-1 6-0 success.

Siniakova benefited from Krueger hitting 34 unforced errors to just 10 winners, as she ended a three-year wait for a singles title at tour level, having previously triumphed in Nanchang in 2023.

Rybakina out in front

Rybakina's triumph marked her fourth title of the season, more than any other player on the WTA Tour has managed in 2026.

She also leads the way for victories on the Tour in 2026, with Sunday's win being her 53rd of the year – Mirra Andreeva and Jessica Pegula are joint second with 50 each.

She now has 15 WTA Tour-level titles in her career, with this the ninth to come on hard courts. 

This is the first time the Kazakhstani has defended a singles title in her career, with her winning streak at Ningbo now standing at eight matches – she overcame Andreeva in the 2025 final.