The WTA Tour continues in China, at the Ningbo Open, and in Japan, at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Osaka this week…
China | WTA 500 Ningbo Open
With the WTA Finals just 2 weeks away, the WTA 500 in Ningbo has seen the withdrawal of top seed Jasmine Paolini, and No 5 seed Daria Kastakina, presumably because the Italian World No 6 is a confirmed qualifier in Riyadh, while the Russian is out of the running to make the cut for the season-ending championships.
Paolini’s place in the draw is now occupied by Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, the 5th seed, who receives a 1st-round bye, while Kasatkina’s replacement, Germany’s Tamara Korptasch, made the most of her second chance by edging past fellow lucky loser, Anna Bondar from Hungary, 6-7(4) 7-6(6) 6-4.
Korpatsch saved 3 match points while trailing 4-5 in the second set to eventually get the better of Bondar after 3 hours and 33 minutes.
The German now advances to meet 17-year old Mirra Andreeva from Russia, who easily dispatched 38-year old American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko in just 55 minutes, 6-2 6-0.
8th-seeded Paula Badosa from Spain, improved her record against another Russian, Diana Shnaider, to 4-2, coming from a set down to outpace the 2023 runner-up in 3 sets, 4-6 6-3 6-3.
The Spaniard will next take on Wang Xiyu, after the Chinese wild-card, who out-duelled Russia’s Kamila Rakhimova, another qualifier, 6-2 6-0, in an hour and 31 minutes.
In the only other main draw match played on Monday, Yulia Putintseva, a Russian representing Kazakhstan, roared past Caroline Dolehide, 6-2 6-0, in just 67 minutes, and awaits the winner of the match between Chinese wild-card Wang Yafan and lucky loser Ella Siedel, who took Haddad Maia’s original slot in the 1st-round.
British No 1 Katie Boulter sees action on Tuesday when she takes on Italian qualifier Sara Errani for the chance to meet Haddad Maia in round 2.
3rd-seed Elise Mertens is now the highest ranked player left in the Osaka draw, and therefore becomes favourite for the WTA 250 title
© Wang He/Getty Images
Osaka | WTA 250 Kinoshita Group Japan Open
Top seeds Magdalena Frech from Poland and Canadian Leylah Fernandez pulled out of the draw in Osaka, both citing injury.
Frech is replaced by Eva Lys, a lucky loser from Germany, who plays Colombia’s Camila Osorio on Tuesday, while Fernandez’s place went to Katie Volynets, but the American fell to Denmark’s Clara Tauson, 6-1 6-4, on Monday.
Tauson lines up to face the winner of the 1st-round encounter between Britain’s Harriet Dart and German qualifier Laura Siegemund on Tuesday.
Dutch qualifier Suzan Lamens upset World No 49 and 6th seed Viktoriya Tomova from Bulgaria, 6-1 6-2, to score her second win over a Top 50 player, following her upset of Jelena Ostapenko in Billie Jean King Cup Group I action in April.
Lamens moves into round 2 to meet Lucia Bronzetti, after the Italian got past Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, 6-3 6-4, in her opener.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto, the No 8 seed from Italy, faced 2 points to trail 1-5 in the third set to lucky loser Jessika Ponchet from France, but stormed back, saving a match point at 4-5 down, before winning in a third-set breaker, 6-4 5-7 7-6(3), after 3 hours and 3 minutes.
Cocciaretto advances to meet Aoi Ito, a 20-year-old, rather unorthodox, Japanese qualifier, who upset America’s Sofia Kenin, the former Australian Open champion, from 2-5 down in the third set, 6-2 3-6 7-5, in an hour and 48 minutes.
Ranked 188, Ito extended her winning streak to 8 matches, following her title run at the Nanao ITF W50 3 weeks ago.
Meanwhile, American McCartney Kessler eased past another qualifier, Japan’s Ena Shibahara, 6-4 6-1, into round 2, where she awaits the winner of the match between Lys and Osorio.
