Elena Rybakina kept her Ningbo Open title defense alive Friday, defeating qualifier Katarzyna Kawa 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the WTA 500 tournament.
The world No. 1 will face sixth seed Diana Shnaider after recovering from a second-set reversal against Kawa, whose surprise run ended in the quarterfinals in China.
Rybakina finished the match in one hour and 45 minutes, compiling 29 winners to Kawa’s 14 in a contest featuring nine service breaks, Field Level Media reported.
Kawa broke Rybakina three times during the second set, turning what initially looked like a comfortable assignment for the top seed into a contest requiring a reset.
Rybakina supplied it with another 6-1 set. The identical opening and closing scores framed a match in which the qualifier briefly disrupted the favorite’s progress toward another title.
Eight aces helped Rybakina secure her 51st victory of the season, according to Tennis Now, which also reported that she is pursuing her sixth final of 2026.
Her next opponent also needed three sets Friday. Shnaider defeated fourth seed Iva Jovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, winning the final five games to eliminate the American teenager.
The semifinal gives Shnaider another opportunity against an opponent who has controlled their previous meetings. Rybakina has won all four sets the pair have played against each other.
Their most recent meeting came in Cincinnati in August, when Rybakina won 6-4, 6-4. That history adds another challenge for Shnaider after her own demanding quarterfinal victory.
Kawa’s defeat followed a landmark result against Belinda Bencic. The WTA reported that Thursday’s victory was her first against a player ranked inside the top 20.
The 33-year-old Pole entered the week ranked No. 128 and beat Bencic 7-5, 6-2. Her progress brought her into a first tour quarterfinal on hard courts.
Kawa had previously reached tour finals in Jurmala in 2019 and Bogota in 2025. She also collected her first two WTA 125 singles titles earlier this year.
Rybakina’s previous round had offered considerably less court time. Polina Kudermetova retired while trailing 5-0 after 30 minutes Thursday, having earlier called for the physio during the match.
Kawa’s win over Bencic featured 31 winners and five converted break points from 15 opportunities. Against Rybakina, she again found a way to disrupt a higher-ranked opponent.
The other semifinal will match Leylah Fernandez against Marie Bouzkova, completing a final four containing two seeded players and two unseeded contenders, the Associated Press reported after Friday’s quarterfinals.
Fernandez overturned an early deficit to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. The Canadian recovered from losing the opening set to concede just three games across the next two.
It is Fernandez’s second tour semifinal of the season. Her previous appearance at that stage came in Singapore, where she went on to win the tournament.
Bouzkova advanced through an all-Czech quarterfinal, beating Sara Bejlek 6-3, 6-4. She was the only winner among Friday’s four Ningbo singles quarterfinalists to finish in straight sets.
Those results leave Rybakina as the highest seed remaining, with Shnaider the immediate obstacle to another final. Both arrive in the semifinals after decisive third-set responses on Friday.
For Rybakina, the task now is to maintain that closing-set level against an opponent she has beaten twice, with her Ningbo title defense entering its final weekend.
