Elena Rybakina recovered from a sluggish start to take the Ningbo Open title, coming back from a set down to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2. The third-seeded Rybakina trailed 4-1 early in the first set but shifted momentum with a decisive response in the second.

Rybakina used a powerful serve to impose her game and put pressure on the fourth-seeded Alexandrova. Her service performance featured 11 aces, a key element as she moved from a set deficit to control the match and close out the victory in the third set.

The scoreline reflected a clear turnaround: after dropping the opener 6-3, Rybakina produced a bagel in the second set and maintained the upper hand in the decider, limiting opportunities for her opponent and converting the chances she created.

It was the second title of the year for the Kazakhstan player who also won in Strasbourg and the 10th of her career.

The win in Ningbo added another trophy to Rybakina’s season and underlined her capability to recover quickly in a final when faced with early setbacks. Alexandrova, the fourth seed, started strongly but could not sustain the level required once Rybakina elevated her serve and aggression.

Rybakina’s performance combined serve potency and a string of unreturned deliveries that shifted the match after the opening set. The Ningbo title marks another notable result as she continues through the 2025 season.

Leylah Fernandez reached the Japan Open final after a three-set victory over Sorana Cîrstea, prevailing 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Fernandez recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the deciding set, breaking Cîrstea at 4-4 and then holding serve to close out the match.

The fourth-seeded Canadian advances to her eighth career final. Fernandez is the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up and this season made her only semifinal run at the WTA 500 D.C. Open, where she defeated Anna Kalinskaya in the final for her fourth WTA singles title.

Fernandez will meet 18-year-old qualifier Tereza Valentova in Sunday’s championship match. Valentova, the 2024 Roland Garros junior champion, reached her first WTA final by beating Jaqueline Cristian 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Cristian reached the semifinals after receiving a walkover in her quarterfinal when top-seeded Naomi Osaka pulled out with a left leg injury on Friday.

Fernandez’s win over Cîrstea combined a dominant opening set with a resilient finish, responding after dropping the second set and then mounting the comeback in the third. Valentova’s run as a qualifier and former junior champion sets up a contrast in styles and experience for the final, as an established tour veteran faces an 18-year-old making her first WTA title match appearance.

Sunday’s final will pair Fernandez’s tour experience and previous Grand Slam final appearance with Valentova’s breakthrough week at the Japan Open. The stage is set for a final that will decide the tournament champion and extend both players’ seasons in 2025.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard turned a 223 km/h serve into an unforgettable moment and a quarterfinal victory at the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open. The Frenchman’s fast ace struck a spectator’s cup in Brussels, breaking it, and the episode became part of a match he carried to a win over top seed Lorenzo Musetti.

The fifth seed closed out the match 6-4, 7-6 (8), ending a run of four straight losses to Musetti. Prior meetings had gone in Musetti’s favor, including two hard-court defeats in the last two months at the US Open and the China Open. This result marked Mpetshi Perricard’s first win against Musetti in five attempts.

Mpetshi Perricard remained aggressive on serve after the viral moment, using his power to keep Musetti on the defensive and to secure the straight-set victory. The win improved his record in ATP quarterfinals to 4-0 and advanced him into the semifinal against No. 3 seed Jiri Lehecka.

Lehecka had earlier recovered from a set down against Benjamin Bonzi, who was forced to retire while trailing 6-7 (8), 6-1, 4-1, thus preventing an all-French semifinal. With both wins, Mpetshi Perricard and Lehecka moved on to the final four of the event.

The match combined an unusual off-court moment with a substantive result for Mpetshi Perricard: a decisive victory over a higher-seeded opponent, an end to a streak of losses to that rival, and continued success in the late stages of ATP tournaments this season.