Russian tennis player Anastasia Zakharova enters Ningbo Open main draw as Świątek's replacement
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Russian tennis player Anastasia Zakharova entered the Ningbo Open main draw as Iga Świątek's replacement after falling in qualifying.
The late call-up gives the world No. 104 a round-of-16 shot against Czech No.
Background
Anastasia Zakharova is a Russian tennis player ranked No. 111 in the live rankings (Russian No. 8), with a career-best rank of No. 65. She lost in the Ningbo Open qualifying final to Polina Kudermetova earlier in the week, but when Iga Świątek — the Polish former world No. 1, now ranked No. 9 — withdrew from the tournament with a left thigh injury, Zakharova took her place in the main draw. The result is an unexpected debut at the tournament and a new career-high live ranking of No. 104.
How it unfolded
- Oct 1, 2026Zakharova beat Yushan Shao 6-0 6-2 in the China Open first round in Beijing.
- Oct 3, 2026She lost to Belinda Bencic 1-6 6-7 in the China Open second round.
- Oct 10, 2026She lost to Zeynep Sonmez 3-2 (ret.) in the Wuhan Open qualifying first round.
- Oct 17, 2026She beat Yulia Starodubtseva 6-1 7-5 in the Ningbo Open qualifying first round.
- Oct 18, 2026She lost to Polina Kudermetova 3-6 3-6 in the Ningbo Open qualifying final.
- Oct 20, 2026Iga Świątek withdrew from the Ningbo Open citing a lingering left thigh injury, and Zakharova entered the main draw as her replacement. Zakharova stood at No. 111 with 704 points in the live rankings, up 7 places to a new world No. 104.
- Oct 21, 2026Zakharova was scheduled to face Marie Bouzkova in the Ningbo Open round of 16 at approximately 4:00pm AEDT.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Świątek said this has been one of the most demanding seasons of her career and that she needs to rest and recover her body fully, a bit longer this time.
Still unverified
Live rankings change regularly, per the source.