Fifteen of the top 20 players in the WTA Ranking will line up at the WTA 500 Ningbo Open.
The entry list features Jessica Pegula (2024 US Open finalist), Jasmine Paolini (Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist, Dubai champion and Olympic doubles gold medallist), Barbora Krejcikova (two-time Grand Slam champion at 2021 Roland Garros and 2024 Wimbledon), Zheng Qinwen (Olympic singles champion). The Top-ten is completed by world number 8 Emma Navarro, number 9 Maria Sakkari and number 10 Maria Sakkari.
The Ningbo Open is in its first year as a WTA 500 event and could become crucial to determine the line-up of qualifiers for the WTA Finals in Ryadh.
Karolina Muchova continued her come-back from injury by reaching her second consecutive US Open semifinal. The Czech player, who is ranked 51 in the WTA ranking, is into the Ningbo main draw using the protected ranking.
The other top 20 players are 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, Seoul finalists Daria Kasatkina and Beatriz Haddad Maia, Diana Schnaider (semifinalist in Seoul and Olympic doubles silver medallist), Anna Kalinskaya, Ludmila Samsonova, Marta Kostyuk and Paula Badosa.
The last direct main-draw entry is Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic. The first two main draw are Mirra Andreeva and Madison Keys, who are ranked world number 23 and 24 in the WTA Ranking respectively. Ons Jabeur will not defend her last year’s title. The Tunisian player recently announced that she would end her season due to a shoulder injury.
