The WTA 500 Ningbo Open will feature a packed field, with 15 of the Top 20 players in the PIF WTA Singles Rankings on the initial main-draw entry list.
US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini, Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova are among this year's top players headed to Ningbo, China for hard-court action starting October 14th.
In its first year as a WTA 500 event, the Ningbo Open could become an integral part of determining the last handful of qualifiers for the season-ending WTA Finals Riyadh.
World No.3 Pegula leads the main-draw entry list, fresh off a run to her first Grand Slam final at the US Open. World No.5 Paolini, who made her first two Grand Slam finals in Europe over the summer, follows closely behind.
World No.7 Zheng will head into this home-soil event as the Olympic champion and top-ranked Chinese player. World No.8 Emma Navarro, No.9 Maria Sakkari and No.10 Danielle Collins round out the six Top 10 players in the main-draw entries.
Czechs Krejcikova and Karolina Muchova, who had big results at the last two Grand Slam events, are also in the main-draw entries. World No.11 Krejcikova won her second Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon.
Muchova continued her comeback from injury by making her second straight US Open semifinal. Currently ranked World No.51, Muchova is into the Ningbo main draw using her protected ranking of No.9.
Other Top 20 players entered are Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Anna Kalinskaya, Liudmila Samsonova, Diana Shnaider, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Marta Kostyuk and Paula Badosa. Shnaider made her first career final in Ningbo last year.
Donna Vekic, the Olympic silver medalist ranked World No.21, is currently the last direct main-draw entry.
The field is so stacked that the first two main-draw alternates are ranked inside the Top 25: No.23 Mirra Andreeva and No.24 Madison Keys.
Last year's champion Ons Jabeur will not be back in Ningbo to defend her title. Earlier in the week, the Tunisian announced she would be wrapping up her season early due to a shoulder injury.
