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World number one Elena Rybakina recovered from a second-set dip to beat Poland's Katarzyna Kawa on Friday and reach the semi-finals of the Ningbo Open.Top seed and defending champion Rybakina cruised through the opening set but was forced into a decider by the 128th-ranked Kawa before sealing a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory."I actually started pretty well," Rybakina said in her on-court interview. "Everything was going in. The serve was working. Then in the second set I dropped a little bit. (There) was not enough energy on the serve, some mistakes here and there, and very cold games. Also, she played really well a few moments, so it changed in the second set pretty quickly."But I'm happy that in the third set I stayed aggressive and kept on playing my game."Rybakina finished the match much as she began it. After racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, the World No. 1 won the first three games of the decider before Kawa got on the board at 3-1. Rybakina then reeled off the final three games to secure her place in the semi-finals.Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina will face Russian sixth seed Diana Shnaider in the last four in eastern China.Shnaider overcame US fourth seed Iva Jovic in three sets. Canada's Leylah Fernandez plays Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic in the other semi-final.Rybakina, 27, won the US Open for her third Grand Slam crown in September and usurped Aryna Sabalenka as world number one in New York.She was then stunned in the second round in Beijing at the start of this month, and pulled out of the Wuhan Open citing a foot injury. 

Iga Swiatek is set to miss the season-ending WTA Finals after the six-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from the Ningbo Open in China with a thigh injury on Tuesday.The Pole, who has played at every edition of the Finals since 2021 and won the event in 2023, had to reach at least the quarter-finals in Ningbo to have any chance of displacing Czech Karolina Muchova in the last qualifying place.Swiatek was hampered by the injury in her 7-5 6-1 loss to compatriot Maja Chwalinska in the Wuhan Open semi-finals last week. She has won only one tournament this year and failed to advance beyond the quarters at any of the four Grand Slams."After careful consideration, I've decided to withdraw from the tournament," the 25-year-old said in a statement posted on the Ningbo Open's social media."I've been experiencing an ongoing problem with my left thigh over the past weeks and I feel that giving myself the time to rest and recover is the right decision."Muchova, who is not competing at the WTA 500 tournament in China, can still be overtaken by Marta Kostyuk. The Ukrainian has to make up 815 points at the Ningbo event and next week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.While Swiatek is unable to qualify directly for the November 8-15 WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California, she could go to the event as one of two alternates. 

Elena Rybakina powered into the Ningbo Open final with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jasmine Paolini on Saturday that keeps her chances alive of qualifying for the WTA Finals.Paolini could have secured her ticket to next month's season finale in Riyadh with success on Saturday.But the Italian's defeat means the battle for the last two spots will be settled at next week's Pan-Pacific Open in Tokyo, with Mirra Andreeva also still in contention."I knew the match was going to be very tough," said Rybakina, who improved her head-to-head record against Paolini to 3-3."Jasmine has played really well this season and she's a really tough opponent, so I knew I would need to bring my best."I'm happy I stayed focused until the end and won it in straight sets."Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina entered the semi-finals having lost her last two meetings with Paolini but utilised her big serve and powerful groundstrokes to win in 90 minutes.Rybakina fired 30 winners, including 10 aces, and saved all seven break points she faced to reach her second final of the season, where she will face fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.Alexandrova is celebrating her top-10 debut this week and moved into her fourth final of the year with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Russian Diana Shnaider.In a rematch of the Monterrey final won by Shnaider earlier this season, Alexandrova benefited from 40 unforced errors from her opponent throughout the 92-minute showdown."I'm really happy with the result, being here in the final. I think it was a super difficult match today," said Alexandrova, who is through to the 13th WTA final of her career."I have no expectations. I will go on the court tomorrow and enjoy the atmosphere and the match."I will try to do my best because she is a great player and has a really tough serve, so it will be super difficult against her."

Italian second seed Jasmine Paolini kept her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals alive with a gritty comeback win over Belinda Bencic, beating Switzerland's Tokyo Olympic gold medallist 5-7 7-5 6-3 in the Ningbo Open quarter-finals on Friday.Paolini will face third-seed Elena Rybakina in the semis, after the Russian-born Kazakh took less than an hour to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2 6-0 later in the day.Twice Grand Slam finalist Paolini needs a win over Rybakina in the last four to qualify for next month's WTA Finals in Riyadh.The contest against Bencic at the WTA 500 hardcourt tournament, which lasted a marathon three hours and 22 minutes, marked the longest match of Paolini's season.Bencic, 28, served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but was unable to close it out. Her momentum was further interrupted in the deciding set when she took a medical time-out due to a thigh issue while trailing 4-3."One of the toughest I ever played, honestly," Paolini, who was the runner-up at last year's French Open and Wimbledon, said. "Belinda, she's an amazing player and a very good person. Today she deserved to win as well, so it was really tough."I'm happy I stayed there, because at the beginning I had too many mistakes. I couldn't find my best tennis, but then I just tried to stay there every point and turn the match somehow."Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys have all qualified for the season-ending championship of the WTA Tour in Riyadh, with two spots still up for grabs.Rybakina eases past TomljanovicRybakina also remained in contention for a place at the WTA Finals, as she landed seven aces while a struggling Tomljanovic made nine double faults.Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina has now won 50 matches on the tour this year and qualified for seven semi-finals."Of course it would be nice to qualify (for the WTA Finals). But I know for this I still need to win a lot of matches. Not only here, but also next week," Rybakina said."Today I think I served well. It’s not easy to play Ajla. Today a lot of things went my way. Also some lines which I caught. Overall, happy I won in straight sets. Looking forward to tomorrow."Fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova brushed aside American McCartney Kessler 6-3 6-3 to set up a last-four clash with fellow Russian and seventh seed Diana Shnaider, who beat local favourite Zhu Lin 2-6 6-3 6-1 later on Friday.