Ons Jabeur vs Diana Shnaider Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Ningbo Open

Prediction published on 29/09/2023, 08:00  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 29/09/2023 at 10:22 in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Ons Jabeur faces unseeded Diana Shnaider in the final of the Ningbo Open. It's an important match for both players, particularly Jabeur as she bids to qualify for the WTA Tour Finals. The Tunisian is currently eighth in the Live WTA Race, the final qualifying position. Jabeur leads ninth placed Maria Sakkari by 455 points but if she were to lose this match and Sakkari win the Tokyo title, the gap would narrow to just 80. Jabeur simply has to keep winning matches and has been doing just that in Ningbo this week. Four matches have had to be won to reach this final with two sets dropped. Both have come in the last two rounds against Vera Zvonarva and in the last four, Nadia Podoroski. 

No seeds have been faced by Jabeur this week and to win the title, she has to beat a player ranked 85th at the start of this Ningbo Open. Diana Shnaider is up to 63rd after making this final and winning it will see her rise another nine places. Shnaider is in her first ever WTA Tour singles final and surprisingly it's in a hard court tournament having enjoyed success on clay on other tours. Before this tournament, three of her last four matches had been lost so a run to this final is a big surprise. Three sets were needed to get her through the first round as well as in the quarter finals when beating second seeded Petra Kvitova. In the last four, she beat Linda Fruhvirtova in straight sets. This could well be one match too far and we tip Jabeur to win in straight sets.