No. 6 seed Diana Shnaider expects a "tough battle" against world No. 20 Alex Eala in the Round of 16 at the BNB Ningbo Open. A quarterfinal place is at stake at the WTA 500 in Ningbo, China.
Shnaider, 22, is world No. 13. The Daily Tribune reports she said: "She's in great form, and I feel like she's having a great season so far. It's going to be a tough match, a tough battle." She added, "I don't expect an easy day, but we'll see." The Tribune billed Eala as dangerous in its headline; that word is the paper's framing, not Shnaider's quote.
For readers in the Philippines, the match is set for 1 p.m. Manila time on Thursday, 22 Oct, per the Daily Tribune. It is their first meeting at tour level, the WTA says. Left-handed Shnaider reached the French Open semifinals this year and has a career-best ranking of No. 11.
Eala reached the Round of 16 by beating France's Diane Parry 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour 17 minutes on Monday, 19 Oct. That snapped a three-match losing streak and was her 34th tour-level win of 2026, the WTA reports.
Shnaider got here by beating qualifier Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 7-6(4) in the Round of 32 on Tuesday, 20 Oct. The winner could face No. 4 seed Iva Jovic in the quarters. The official quarterfinal prize is $33,475 — about P2.2 million, per the Daily Tribune.
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