'Suffering' and 'difficult schedule' become catchwords of the day as Leylah Fernandez and Elena Rybakina deliver key victory speeches

Elena Rybakina and Leylah Fernandez reigned supreme on Sunday in Asia, with the former winning the Ningbo Open and the latter taking home the title at the Japan Women's Open.

Rybakina, vying hard for a place in the WTA Finals, took out Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final in Ningbo, coming from a set down to win the WTA 500 event for her 10th title on the tour. With the win, the Kazakh moved up to World No. 7 in the rankings, and is now just a couple of wins away from booking her spot in Riyadh.

Meanwhile, Fernandez took down Tereza Valentova in a three-set thriller for her fifth career title, and second this season. Her previous title came in July at the Washington Open.

In her victory speech in Ningbo, Rybakina made a reference to the difficult schedule of the WTA Tour -- one that has come under considerable criticism this year, especially from World No. 2 Iga Swiatek.

"I want to congratulate Ekaterina for a great week and great season. I wish you good luck in the next season. It hasn’t been an easy year for all of us. Difficult schedule, but I wish you all the best for the next season," Rybakina said.

On a similar note, Leylah Fernandez's victory speech in Osaka also saw the presence of the same emotion. After congratulating Valentova, the Canadian turned her attention to her team, thanking them for 'suffering' alongside her all season and having her back.

"I wanna thank my team. My dad who’s over here who’s also my coach, my hitting partner Federico.. thank you so much for suffering with me this week, this past month, and past year.. I also wanna thank my family and loved ones back home. Without you I wouldn’t be here.. without everyone’s sacrifices and support, I wouldn’t be on this stage," she added.

Fernandez, like Elena Rybakina, will also rise a few spots with her title run this week, and will be the World No. 22 next week.

Elena Rybakina and Leylah Fernandez in action next at Pan Pacific Open

After their successful title runs this week, Elena Rybakina and Leylah Fernandez will cross paths next week at the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The defending, Zheng Qinwen, is out with an injury and will not be playing this year.

Rybakina, the second seed, has been handed a bye in her opener. On the other hand, Fernandez will open her campaign against qualifier Maria Sakkari, with a chance to face Rybakina in the second round.

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Shyam is a journalist and content manager who covers tennis at Sportskeeda. He has followed the sport for over two decades and considers Roger Federer the G.O.A.T. Shyam believes in accurate stories that provide detailed knowledge and insight, and strives to bring the same to his readers. Shyam has good understanding of SEO and journalism guidelines.

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Edited by Shyam Kamal