Zhulin staged a comeback against No.6 Andreyeva to cause another upset, advancing to the Ningbo quarterfinals to face Schneider.

On October 15th Beijing time, the 2025 WTA500 Ningbo event continued with the women's singles second round. Zhulin, representing China, came from behind to defeat the top seed and world No.6 Andreyeva 4-6/6-3/6-2, securing her third career victory against a top-10 player and advancing to the last eight.

Zhulin

Photo: Visual China

The two had previously met once this year at the China Open, where Zhulin lost in straight sets. In today’s match, Andreyeva broke serve first in the seventh game of the opening set and narrowly held her serve at match point, saving two break points before sealing the set on her fourth set point. In the second set, Zhulin overcame an early break to break three times herself, leveling the match 6-3. Riding the momentum, Zhulin broke early in the third set, engaged in a break exchange battle, resisted Andreyeva’s comeback attempts, and closed out the match with a love service game to win 6-2.

Andreyeva

Photo: Visual China

“I knew today’s match would be very tough. I lost to her in Beijing in straight sets because I played too cautiously. Maybe the loser learns more from the experience. If possible, I want to deliver my best performance at home,” Zhulin said in a post-match interview. “Today I played very well, whether I was behind or ahead, I took initiative whenever I had a chance. Facing a top-10 player, I tried to stay relaxed. I have nothing to lose at this stage of my career, and I want to make some changes and play tennis differently than before.”

Schneider

Photo: Visual China

Zhulin will face the No.7 seed Schneider in the quarterfinals, who came back from a set down to beat Czech player Muchova 2-6/6-1/6-2. After the match, Schneider said, “I’m satisfied and proud of my performance. I felt too passive in the first set, which gave her the chance to take control. She’s a very strong player. Then I became more aggressive in the second set and scored more points by stepping up my attack.” Schneider reached the final at Ningbo in 2023, when she was ranked only No.85, eventually finishing runner-up to Jabeur.

No.6 seed and Swiss star Bencic battled through 3 hours and 33 minutes against Ukrainian qualifier Starodubtseva, winning 5-7/6-4/7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals. Bencic said after the match, “I feel very tired. It was a very high-quality match. She’s a very smart player, and I’m happy to have delivered a great match today.”

This match set the record for the longest WTA singles match this season. Previously, the longest match was the Rome semifinal between Zheng Qinwen and Gauff, which lasted 3 hours and 32 minutes. Bencic’s quarterfinal opponent will be the winner between No.2 seed Paolini and Kudermetova.

In a qualifier showdown, Australian player Tomljanovic overcame a 0-5 deficit in the first set to eventually defeat Turkish player Senmez 7-6(6)/6-3, advancing to the quarterfinals where she will face the winner between No.3 seed Rybakina and Ukrainian player Yastremska.

Wang Xinyu profile photo

Photo: Visual China

The Chinese doubles team of Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai defeated Appleton and Havrlac 6-4/6-3 to reach the women’s doubles quarterfinals. This is their first time pairing since Wimbledon this year. Wang said in a post-match interview, “I haven’t played doubles for a long time. After Wimbledon, I told Saisai that I wasn’t focusing much on doubles recently and wanted to concentrate more on singles, so I took a break. Coming back today felt fresh and relaxed, and it was nice to get more match play. Today’s win was somewhat unexpected.” Guo Hanyu and Panova lost 4-6/4-6 to Mihalikova and Nickels in the first round of doubles.

October 16th Schedule

Tomorrow will continue with the remaining second-round women’s singles matches. No.8 seed Samsonova will open on center court against American player Kessler. The match between No.2 seed Paolini and Kudermetova will follow. Chinese player Yuan Yue will play third, challenging No.4 seed Alexandrova. The clash between No.3 seed Rybakina and Yastremska will close the day.