WTA Finals qualification battle: Mirra Andreeva v Jasmine Paolini v Elena Rybakina
Only two places are still up for grabs in the season-ending WTA Finals and three women are still in the running with Mirra Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina heading for a showdown at the Ningbo Open.
Six players have already booked their places at the lucrative year-end tournament in Riyadh with world 1 Aryna Sabalenka headlining the event and she will be joined in Saudi Arabia by Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula.
In case you are not aware, the WTA Finals features the top seven women in the official WTA Rankings at the cutoff date while one place is usually reserved for a current-year Grand Slam winner who finishes between ninth and 20th.
That rule has come into effect this year with Keys booking her ticket on the back of winning the season-opening Australian Open, although she could still qualify via her official ranking, while Sabalenka (US Open), Gauff (French Open) and Swiatek (Wimbledon) gained direct entry.
That leaves the Andreeva, Paolini and Rybakina scrapping for the remaining spots and they will all be in action at the WTA 500 Ningbo this week.
Mirra Andreeva – 4,320
The 18-year-old is in pole position to become the seventh player to secure a plane ticket to Riyadh as she currently has a 189-point lead over Paolini with Rybakina another 218 points adrift.
Andreeva – who is looking to reach the WTA Finals for the first time – is the top seed at Ningbo and, of course, if she wins the title she will qualify, but she can also book her place if Rybakina loses early.
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The reigning Dubai and Indian Wells champion faces Zhu Lin in the second round.
Of course, if she loses early then she will have another chance at next week’s Pan Pacific Open, which is also a WTA 500 tournament.
Jasmine Paolini – 4,131
The Italian won her home WTA 1000 tournament in Rome in May and is hoping to qualify for a second consecutive year.
Paolini will also qualify if she wins the trophy while a run to the semi-final will also be enough if Rybakina loses early, but she has a tough opener against Veronika Kudermetova.
Like Andreeva and Rybakina, Paolini has also entered the Pan Pacific Open should she not make it this week.
Elena Rybakina – 3,913
The 2022 Wimbledon champion is the underdog as she cannot secure her place at the 2025 WTA Finals even if she wins the title.
Rybakina, who faces Dayana Yastremska for a place in the quarter-final, needs to reach at least the semi-final to stay in the hunt while a title run could see her move ahead of Paolini, providing the Italian doesn’t reach the last four.
