Rybakina Stages a Win Over Paolini to Reignite Riyadh Finals Dream
18 October 2025
Rybakina Delivers in Ningbo Semi, Eyes Riyadh
Elena Rybakina extended her late-season push by defeating Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 in the Ningbo Open semifinal, keeping her dream of reaching the Riyadh finals alive.
Paolini’s victory in earlier rounds had briefly put her on immediate Riyadh qualification, but Rybakina’s win shifted the focus and timing. The Olympic-style drama in the race to Riyadh now hinges on the draw and results in Tokyo, as the absence of Mira Andreeva from next week’s event opens a fresh doorway for Paolini to leap into Riyadh based on the standings.
Only one singles spot remains up for grabs, to be decided in Tokyo between Rybakina and Andreeva, under a straightforward-but-fickle formula: if Rybakina loses the Ningbo final, she must win Tokyo to qualify; if she wins Ningbo, she needs at least a semifinal in Tokyo; otherwise Andreeva takes the remaining slot and Rybakina becomes the alternates’ boss for now.
In a clash between two top-10 players, Rybakina held her nerve for a 1 hour 29-minute victory to reach her second final of the season. Post-match, she credited Paolini’s tough season and stressed the importance of maintaining focus to seal the win with back-to-back sets.
Paolini pushed hard and kept the pressure until the last ball, but Rybakina stuck to her game from start to finish, flashing long rallies and precise shotmaking in a contest filled with marathon exchanges.
Rybakina now faces Ekaterina Alexandrova in Sunday's final. Alexandrova, who has broken into the top ten this week, eliminated her compatriot Diana Schneider in the other semifinal with 6-3, 6-4, and holds a 3-1 edge in the head-to-head, though their most recent meeting was in Adelaide in early 2024.
Almaty Men’s Final Preview
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev kept his end‑of‑season surge going by advancing to the Almaty Open final, marking his first hard-court final in over a year. The second seed defeated Australian James Duckworth 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday, strengthening his bid for the Nitto ATP Finals for a seventh straight season. Medvedev sits 13th in the live race to Turin as he pursues another deep run on the tour.
Duckworth aimed to reach the Kazakhstan final for the second time (the first in 2021 in Astana) but slipped 30 spots to No. 108 in the live rankings after Almaty, ending a dream run that could have placed him in the spotlight in this region.
Medvedev’s clash with Corentin Moutet in the final would make for a fresh test, with Moutet having reached a career-high ranking of 36 after a semifinal run that included a two-hour-and-twelve-minute victory and 30 wins on the year—making him the first Frenchman to hit that win total in 2025.
Medvedev’s performance in this late-season stretch underlines a broader narrative: the Great Russian’s relentless consistency as the calendar turns, while Moutet continues to punch above his weight as a rising star from France.
As the men’s final looms, the tennis world watches to see whether Medvedev can finally capture that elusive title since Rome’s Masters victory in 2023, or if Moutet can engineer a surprise that caps a breakthrough season with a trophy in Almaty.
Two masters of the court highlight a weekend that blends the ongoing Riyadh qualification drama with a tangible push for a late-season title, reminding fans that in tennis, like in late-year shopping, the best deals often come when you least expect them.
Sniper’s punchline 1: In tennis as in life, if your serve misses, just claim it was a “let” and move on—justice served softly, but still served.
Sniper’s punchline 2: If you think your backhand needs work, remember: even a broken backhand still makes a good joke when the ball lands in the stands.
