WTA 500 Ningbo: Draw Set for Ukrainian Players in Qualifications
Four Ukrainian tennis players discovered their initial qualifying paths following the official draw held on October 16 for the WTA 500 hardcourt tournament in Ningbo, China, where two compatriots await directly in the main draw, sport.ua reported.
Four Ukrainians in the Ningbo Qualifying Draw
The qualification bracket features four distinct opening matchups for the Ukrainian contingent. Daria Snigur earned the top seed in the qualifying tournament and opens against China’s Lin Yujiu, who secured a wild card entry from tournament organizers, sport.ua reported. Yujiu holds the 889th position in the WTA singles rankings, according to suspilne.media. Snigur and Yujiu have never played each other previously.
Yuliia Starodubtsewa received the second qualifying seed and faces neutral competitor Anastasia Zakharova in the qualifying semifinals, sport.ua reported. Zakharova occupies the 111th spot in the WTA rankings with a career-high mark of 65th reached in April 2026, suspilne.media noted. The two players last met in June 2026 on the grass in Eastbourne, where Zakharova claimed the victory.
Third-seeded Angelina Kalinina squares off against Switzerland’s Simona Waltert in her opening qualification match, sport.ua reported. Waltert sits at No. 110 in the world rankings, holding a career-best position of 81st alongside a WTA 125 title won in Rio de Janeiro, according to suspilne.media details.
Dayana Yastremska stands as the sole unseeded Ukrainian in the qualifying field, drawing Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, the eighth seed, for her first-round contest, sport.ua reported. Rakhimova ranks 69th globally with a peak standing of 60th, and her recent resume features a run to the Wimbledon third round after defeating fifth-ranked Jasmine Paolini alongside a WTA 125 title in Angers, suspilne.media reported.
Kostyuk and Svitolina Enter Main Singles Draw
While four players compete in the two-round qualifying phase running from October 17 to October 18, two higher-ranked compatriots bypass the preliminary rounds entirely. Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina hold direct acceptance into the main singles draw, which runs from October 19 through October 25, sport.ua reported.