Rybakina reaches the Ningbo quarterfinals as Kudermetova retires at 5-0

On 22 October Elena Rybakina reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 event in Ningbo. In the second round qualifier Polina Kudermetova retired at 0-5 in the first set: she called for the physio at 0-3, and the official WTA draw lists a shoulder problem as the reason. After the match Rybakina wished her opponent a speedy recovery and noted that conditions in Ningbo are not easy and the balls are quite heavy. In the quarterfinals the world No. 1 and defending champion will face Katarzyna Kawa of Poland, another qualifier, who beat fifth seed Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16. According to the WTA schedule the match will be fifth on Center Court on 23 October, where play begins at 11:00 Ningbo time (08:00 in Astana). Reaching the quarterfinals is worth 108 ranking points; in Ningbo Rybakina is defending 500 points from last year's title.