Muchová seals last WTA Finals spot as Kostyuk retires in Ningbo

Karolína Muchová did not hit a ball in Ningbo on Wednesday, yet she left the day as the eighth and final qualifier for the WTA Finals. The Czech's place in Indian Wells was sealed when No. 3 seed Marta Kostyuk retired from her second-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova after a medical timeout, having lost the first set 6-4.

The WTA had made the maths clear before the week began: Kostyuk needed to reach the final at the Ningbo Open to overtake Muchová in the race. Her exit ended that chase, and Muchová, who skipped Ningbo, is now confirmed for the season-ending championships, which run from 8 to 15 November in Indian Wells, California.

A first year-end finals for Muchová

According to Just Women's Sports, it will be Muchová's first appearance at the WTA Finals. It caps a season that has already given her a Wimbledon final, which she lost to compatriot Linda Nosková, and a Billie Jean King Cup title for Czechia, won alongside that same Nosková.

Both Czechs are now part of the eight-player field in the desert. The full line-up reads: Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Linda Nosková and Karolína Muchová.

The final place opened up earlier in the week when Iga Świątek withdrew from Ningbo with a thigh injury and announced she would end her season, taking herself out of contention. That left Kostyuk as the only player still able to catch Muchová, and only with a deep run in China.

Kostyuk's chase ends in the first set

Kostyuk had arrived in Ningbo well behind in the race. Just Women's Sports reported that she trailed Muchová by 815 points at the start of the week and had been managing a right wrist problem that kept her out of the China Open earlier in October. Against Alexandrova she could not continue beyond the opening set.

For Alexandrova, the walk-off win means a second straight quarter-final in Ningbo. She will face Leylah Fernandez, who needed three hours and three minutes to get past qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3.

Fernandez digs in, Bejlek knocks out a seed

Fernandez was 5-3 down in the opening set before reeling off four games in a row. Sasnovich took the second set in a tie-break, but the Canadian pulled clear in the decider to reach her fifth WTA quarter-final of 2026 and her first in Ningbo. "Just enjoying the battle. It was so tough, but it was also so much fun playing in front of a wonderful crowd," Fernandez told the WTA website.

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Elsewhere in the draw, Sara Bejlek upset eighth seed Sorana Cirstea 7-6(3), 6-4, and Marie Bouzková beat Anastasia Zakharova 7-5, 6-2 to move into the last eight.

There was also a WTA Finals spot settled in doubles. Top seeds Cristina Bucșa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez beat Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals and, according to the WTA, secure their place in Indian Wells.

With the singles field now complete, the remaining WTA events this autumn have no bearing on qualification. Muchová's next confirmed date is the start of the WTA Finals on 8 November, while in Ningbo Fernandez and Alexandrova meet for a place in the semi-finals.