Elena Rybakina earned a straight-sets win over Jasmine Paolini to reach the Ningbo Open final and keep her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals alive.

Paolini would have sealed her place in Riyadh with a victory, but instead, Rybakina reached her second final of the year with a 6-3 6-2 win in one hour and 29 minutes.

Rybakina held off a break point in the opening game, with both players evenly matched in the early stages of the match.

However, the 26-year-old did not find the edge until the eighth game to find the advantage in a marathon game, converting her fourth break point. She then defended one of her own in the next game before taking the set.

Rybakina then needed another four break points to get a 3-2 advantage in the next set, and she did not look back from there.

A four-game winning streak booked her a place in the final, though she needed to defend four break points before taking the match on her first attempt in the last game.

She will face either Diana Schnaider or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the showpiece.

RYBAKINA WINS IT!

She beats Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final in Ningbo #NingboOpen pic.twitter.com/KHpobW4tyE

— wta (@WTA) October 18, 2025

Data Debrief: Rybakina serves up the goods

Paolini played a marathon quarter-final, and it appears to have caught up to her, with Rybakina taking advantage.

The Kazakh was strong on serve, hitting 10 aces and winning 88% of her first-serve points (28/32).

Rybakina also saved all seven break points that she faced, while converting three of the 10 she forced.