Diana Shnaider beat Alexandra Eala 7-5, 6-4 in the Round of 16 at the BNB Ningbo Open.
The No. 6 seed closed on her seventh match point after 1 hour 55 minutes on Thursday, 22 Oct, the WTA reports. It was straight sets at the WTA 500 in Ningbo, China. Eala, the World No. 20 and unseeded in an Asian event for the first time, according to Philstar, is 21.
This was their first pro meeting. Both are among the three highest-ranked left-handers on tour. Eala had won their only junior match 6-1, 6-3 in Osaka in 2019. Her tour-level record against left-handers fell to 1-4.
Eala dropped serve first at 4-4 in the opener. Shnaider later needed a seven-deuce final game to serve out the match. Eala saved the third match point with a drop shot–pass combination but could not convert either of her two break points in that game.
Eala had reached the Round of 16 by beating France's Diane Parry 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour 17 minutes on Monday, 19 Oct, her 34th tour-level win of 2026. That snapped a three-match losing streak.
Shnaider next faced No. 4 seed Iva Jovic in the quarterfinals. On court, she said Eala "never goes back down -- she steps in, she rips the ball."
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