Rybakina Cruises Past Tomljanovic in Ningbo: A Clash Against Paolini Awaits in the Semifinals

Elena Rybakina had no trouble defeating Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarterfinals in Ningbo.

Rybakina was competing in the quarterfinals of the Ningbo WTA 500 tournament this Friday. Following her complicated opening match against Dayana Yastremska (6-4, 6-7, 6-3), the world No. 9 from Kazakhstan this time faced Ajla Tomljanovic.

The Australian, who came through the qualifying rounds, had beaten Maya Joint, Antonia Ruzic, Clara Tauson, and Zeynep Sönmez to reach this stage of the competition. But the task looked daunting for the 32-year-old player. Ranked 104th in the world, the Australian suffered a third defeat against her opponent of the day in as many encounters.

Helpless against the power of her opponent's serve (7 aces for Rybakina), Tomljanovic was defeated, and her run in the Chinese city comes to an end. However, she can take consolation from a return to the top 100 next week (87th in the Live rankings).

As for Rybakina, she conceded only two games in this match (6-2, 6-0 in 57 minutes) and spent much less time on the court than against Yastremska in the previous round. An energy-saving performance that will be useful for her next match against Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals.

Both players are still in the running to compete in the WTA Finals and can take advantage of Mirra Andreeva's early exit in this tournament to move closer to qualifying for Saudi Arabia. In head-to-head matchups, Paolini leads 3 wins to 2 against Rybakina. On hard courts, it's the Italian who has won both encounters, including the most recent one at the WTA Finals in Riyadh last year.