Ons Jabeur Ease Past Diana Shnaider in Ningbo to win first hard-court title, fifth career crown

Ons Jabeur dropped just three games to Diana Shnaider in the Ningbo Open final to claim her second title this year at the Hologic WTA Tour title, and first on hard courts.

The No.1 seed captured her fifth Hologic WTA Tour title, second of 2023 and first of her career on hard courts at the Ningbo Open with a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of unseeded teenager Diana Shnaider in a 78-minute final.

“These are little steps to winning a Grand Slam final. Playing a final here is more relaxed than playing a Grand Slam final, but I think it will help me gain confidence more, and to help me manage the pressure and stress.

“I think [Shnaider] is a terrific player and she really gave me a hard time. I know the score is 2 and 1, but it was more difficult than you see it. She has a lot of potential — her game is really solid so I really expect to see her bothering other players. It was funny and cute that she shared the story of the Moscow final a few years back, where she first saw me playing. When I met her at the French Open this year, she told me about it.

“I felt more solid [than in previous matches], I felt tactically I played very well, I had an advantage in that I had more experience than her to manage certain points.”

The Tunisian, who is currently No.8 in the Race to the WTA Finals Cancun, had taken a last-minute wild card into the WTA 250 tournament following her third-round loss to Martina Trevisan in Guadalajara last week. She had previously claimed the Charleston title on green clay in April, but this was Jabeur’s first appearance in a final since her 6-4, 6-4 loss to Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon.

Jabeur has now won titles on grass (Birmingham 2021, Berlin 2022), clay (Madrid 2021, Charleston 2022) and hard courts. She had previously lost three hard-court finals, one indoor (Moscow 2018) and two outdoor (Chicago 2021, US Open 2022).