The WTA 500 2025 AUX Ningbo Open in China is heating up this week as players battle for crucial points in the race for the PIF WTA Finals in Riyadh. Mirra Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini, and Elena Rybakina stand out among the contenders, with a narrow margin of just 407 points separating them in the WTA Race standings. Only two of them can secure a spot in the prestigious event slated to start on November 1.
As the tournament kicked off on Monday, both Andreeva and Rybakina received first-round byes and will look to capitalize on the opportunity to claim 500 points for the winner. Meanwhile, Paolini is also set to participate in the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, which is the final WTA 500 event of the 2025 season before the Finals commence.
On the opening day, two seeded players took to the courts. No. 6 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland delivered a commanding performance against Magda Linette of Poland, winning 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour. Meanwhile, seventh seed Diana Shnaider from Russia faced off against local wild-card Wang Xiyu. After a challenging match that lasted 1 hour and 51 minutes, Shnaider triumphed with a score of 7-5, 6-3, marking her first victory in three encounters against Wang.
Bencic is set to meet Yuliia Starodubtseva next, who secured her place by defeating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-2. This victory marked Starodubtseva’s first tour-level win since July and brings her back into competitive form after a long lull.
American player McCartney Kessler had a standout performance, dominating Sofia Kenin, the former Australian Open champion, and finishing the match in just 53 minutes with a score of 6-0, 6-1. Another notable first-round matchup saw Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez recover from a set down to defeat Aliaksandra Sasnovich from Belarus 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, enhancing her head-to-head record against Sasnovich to 3-1 after a 2-hour and 10-minute battle.
British player Emma Raducanu, recovering from an illness that forced her withdrawal from the first round at the Wuhan Open, is scheduled to make her appearance in Ningbo. Raducanu reported feeling better after her medical episode in Wuhan, where she was trailing Ann Li when she called for a timeout. In her statement, she expressed disappointment over her withdrawal and thanked fans for their support.
As Raducanu prepares to compete, she emphasizes the importance of pushing herself, particularly as the season draws to a close. She faces Zhu Lin of China in her opening match, and should she win, she is expected to confront the top-seeded Andreeva in the second round.
Looking ahead, Raducanu has plans to compete in the Toray Pan Pacific Open next week in Tokyo and will wrap up her season with a participation in the Hong Kong Tennis Open. As the competition unfolds in Ningbo, the stakes remain high not only for the title but also for the coveted spots in the season’s final championship.
