Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva (79) successfully qualified for the WTA-500 tennis tournament in China. In the main draw of Ningbo Open-2026, she will join defending champion Elena Rybakina (1). This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Qualifying victories
Following her win over China's Yihan Qiu (1018) – 6:1, 7:6 (7:0), Putintseva confidently defeated American Alycia Parks (64) in qualifying – 6:2, 6:2.
It took the Kazakhstani just 1 hour and 15 minutes to prove her superiority over an opponent ranked higher than her. The stats showed 6:2 on breaks, 0:2 on aces, 0:13 on double faults, and 64:39 on total points won.
Main draw opponents
Putintseva's first opponent in the main draw is yet to be determined. It is possible that it will be Rybakina. The tennis queen and reigning Ningbo-2025 champion receives a bye in the first round. In the second round, she will face either Spain's Cristina Bucsa (13) or one of six qualifiers. The exact opponent will be determined after the qualifying rounds conclude.
Danilina in doubles
Anna Danilina (7) will also compete in Ningbo. With her new partner Jiang Xinyu (25), Anna is seeded fourth. To reach the quarterfinals, the Kazakh-Chinese duo will face Desiree Krawczyk (USA, 31) and Fanny Stollar (Hungary, 64).
Tournament history
The Ningbo Open women's hard-court tournament was founded in 2010 as an alternative to the WTA tournament in Tokyo. It is intended for players with not the highest rankings.
In 2013, the Ningbo Open received '125' status, in 2023 – '250', and in 2024 – '500'. Recent champions include Magda Linette (Poland), Ons Jabeur (Tunisia), and Australia's Daria Kasatkina, who was still playing for Russia in 2024.
Last year, the tournament was won by Rybakina, who defeated Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final – 3:6, 6:0, 6:2.
The prize fund of Ningbo Open-2026 is $1.2 million.