Number 1 seed Ons Jabeur dropped just three games in her 6-2 6-1 win over 6-2 6-1 win over unseeded teenager Diana Schnaider at the Ningbo Open to clinch her fifth WTA Tour title, her first of her career on hard court and her second in 2023 after claiming the win in Charleston last April.
Jabeur broke twice in the first set and three times in the second set.
Jabeur took a last-minute wild card into the WTA 250 tournament in Ningbo after her defeat against Italy’s Martina Trevisan at the Guadalajara Open.
The Tunisian player has played her first final since Wimbledon, where she lost to Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-4 last July.
Jabeur has claimed two titles on grass in Birmingham and Berlin in 2022, on clay in Madrid 2021 and Charleston 2022 and lost three hard court finals in Moscow 2021, Chicago and at the US Open in 2022.
Nineteen-year-old Schnaider broke into the top 100 while she was at NC State University before turning pro last May. She will reach her career-high in the top 70 next Monday.
Jabeur beat Vera Zvonareva in the quarter finals and Nadia Podoroska in the semifinals earlier this week en route to the final.
Jabeur fired 18 winners to just 10 unforced errors and saved all three break points she faced.
“These are little steps to winning a Grand Slam final. Playing a final here is more relaxed than playing a Grand Slam final, but I think it will help me gain confidence more, and to help me manage the pressure and stress. I think Schnaider is a terrific player and she really gave me a really hard time. The score is 2 and 1, but it was more difficult than you see it. She has a lot of potential. Her game is really solid, so I expect to see her bothering other players. It was funny that she shared the story of the Moscow final a few years back, where she first saw me playing. When I met her at the French Open, she told me about it. I felt more solid than in previous matches, I felt tactically I played really well, I had an advantage in that I had more experience than her to manage certain points”, said Jabeur.
