Elena Rybakina is preparing to defend her Ningbo title against Elina Svitolina next week in China.The Ukrainian has reached 13 WTA quarter-finals this season, showing no intention of stopping ahead of the Ningbo Open and will want to challenge the Kazakhstani to ensure she has enough points to secure her place in the WTA finals later this year.Svitolina is enjoying an excellent 2026 season, highlighted by two singles titles and a return to the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2021GettyRybakina defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in last year’s final to win her tenth WTA Tour title.Rybakina is the current world No 1; however, she pulled out of the ongoing Wuhan Open with a foot injury, a day after she lost her China Open opener to world No.118 Alina Charaeva.The entry list for this year’s edition is strong and includes Iga Swiatek and Marta Kostyuk, with the world No1 still yet to withdraw.The tournament has split the 28 singles places into 17 direct entrants, six qualifiers, four wild cards and one special exempt.The results of the Ningbo Open are very likely to carry significant implications on the WTA Finals and can change who qualifies.The title carries 500 points and Rybakina’s Ningbo win helped her qualify for the WTA Finals, which she went on to win with Swiatek and Kostyuk having few chances left to close the gap.Additionally, they are also fighting to receive the $185,500 (£138,000) prize money.Ningbo Open: Dates and how to followThe 2026 Ningbo Open is taking place from Monday, October 19 to Sunday, October 25.It is a tournament held in Ningbo, China and is played on outdoor hardcourts.Sky Sports Tennis will be showing the action throughout the week from 6am (BST).Rybakina is leading the seeded leaderboard by over 2000 pointsAFPFans can also keep across the action with live updates on talkSPORT.Ningbo Open prize money and ranking pointsFirst round: 1 point & $12,700Second round: 60 points & $17,795Quarter-finals: 108 points & $33,475Semi-finals: 195 points & $66,003Finalist: 325 points & $114,500Winner: 500 points & $185,500Ningbo Open: The competitorsSvitolina is sixth in the rankings after exiting in the quarter finals to World No.87 and Britain’s Sonay Kartal.World No.4 Jessica Pegula was due to be the second-ranked player in the field but will now be replaced by Canadian Leylah Fernandez.Meanwhile, unseeded Alexandra Eala may yet become a dangerous floater in the draw.The Filipina star will try to snap her losing run at the tournament.The 21-year-old suffered a shock setback to No.217 Chinese qualifier Han Shi in the Wuhan Open singles first round last Monday night.Eala had a breakout season this year, yet has struggled at the last few tournamentsGettyPrior to that, she also yielded to No.180 Tatiana Prozorova in the Singapore Open second round.Additionally, she was knocked out by No.85 Wang Xiyu in the semi-finals and missed out on direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.