TENNIS: Rybakina overwhelms Fernandez to retain Ningbo crown

Elena Rybakina blazed past unseeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-2 in the Ningbo Open final on Sunday to retain her title and lift her first trophy as the world number one ahead of the WTA Finals next month.

The victory also helped the Kazakh to take a big step towards securing the year-end number one ranking, further burnishing a spectacular season in which she won the Australian Open title before adding the US Open crown to reach the summit.

Top seed Rybakina made the breakthrough with her trademark power in the fifth game and then unleashed a searing crosscourt backhand winner to go 4-2 up, before the 27-year-old wrapped up the opening set in only 38 minutes.

World number 30 Fernandez made a bright start to the next set but Rybakina absorbed the pressure and raised her level to force an error and break for 2-1, with the three-times Grand Slam champion breezing to victory from there.

Rybakina's latest triumph is a timely lift after setbacks in Beijing and Wuhan, as she turns her attention to the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this week before launching her title defence at the season finale in Indian Wells from November 8.

Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon/Reuters