Rybakina is top seed in Ningbo and will start her title defence in the second round

On 18 October the WTA released the draw for the WTA 500 event in Ningbo, which runs from 19 to 25 October. Elena Rybakina, the world No. 1 and defending champion, is seeded first and has a first-round bye. In the second round she will face the winner of Cristina Bucsa (wildcard) vs Polina Kudermetova (qualifier). Her quarter also includes Belinda Bencic (No. 5 seed) and Jelena Ostapenko, while Iva Jovic (4) is in her half of the draw. Iga Swiatek is seeded second and Marta Kostyuk third; both are in the bottom half, so Rybakina could only meet them in the final. The champion will earn 500 ranking points. Ningbo will be Rybakina's first event since she withdrew from the Wuhan Open with a foot injury; as of 18 October there has been no official statement on her fitness. The date and time of her second-round match will be known once the order of play is published.