The next WTA 500 tournament of the season is the 2024 Ningbo Open, and the prize money for it has been unveiled.
Last year's Ningbo Open was a great tournament. Ons Jabeur won the event when it was a WTA 250 in 2023, comfortably beating Diana Shnaider in the final.
The successful tournament last year earned the Ningbo Open WTA 500 status, and the entry list for the event in China is superb, including a range of Top 10 players.
Jasmine Paolini, Qinwen Zheng, Emma Navarro, Barbora Krejcikova, and Mirra Andreeva are just some of the high-profile players who will compete for glory at the tournament in East China, running from October 14th to 20th.
Zheng, who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open final, and Navarro are fighting for the final place in the WTA Finals. The Chinese player is in pole position after strong results at the China Open and Wuhan Open.
Navarro was in pole position to qualify heading into the Asian swing, but her form has dropped for the first time. Reaching the US Open semifinal last month was one of the 23-year-old's many achievements.
The 2024 Ningbo Open champion will receive $142,000 out of $922,573 distributed and 500 ranking points for being the best player at this year's tournament. That is ample incentive for players to give it everything in Wuhan.
$87,655 and 325 ranking points are on offer for the runner-up at the tournament in Ningbo. Losing a final is always disappointing, but those rewards for the second-best player in the week are still impressive.
Linda Fruhvirtova and Nadia Podoroska were the semifinalists at last year's Ningbo Open. It was a particularly impressive result for Podoroska, a clay-court specialist who rarely manages good hardcourt results on the WTA Tour.
The two losing semifinalists at the 2024 Ningbo Open will receive $51,205 and 195 ranking points. There have been several surprising semifinalists on the WTA Tour this year, and many players in the draw will hope that is the case again.
The quarterfinalists at the Ningbo Open will not be as impressively rewarded as the semifinalists, but the four players who lose at that stage are likely to be happy with their rewards.
Those players will receive 108 ranking points and $24,910 for their efforts. The two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was among the losing quarterfinalists at last year's Ningbo Open.
Lower-ranked players, such as qualifiers and wild cards, can even benefit substantially from winning one round in Ningbo. They will receive $13,590 in their bank account and 60 ranking points.
Unfortunately, the players who lose in the opening round will only get one ranking point. However, those women will still receive $9,820 for being good enough to be in the 2024 Ningbo Open main draw.
It promises to be a superb tournament because of the caliber of players who are in the 2024 Ningbo Open draw. The strong financial incentives might give the players an additional boost to give it everything they have.
2024 Ningbo Open WTA Prize Money & Points Overview:
| Points | Prize Money | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 500 points | $142,000 |
| Finalist | 325 points | $87,655 |
| Semi-finalists | 195 points | $51,205 |
| Quarter-finalists | 108 points | $24,910 |
| 2nd round | 60 points | $13,590 |
| 1st round | 1 point | $9,820 |
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