Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Top Seed Mirra Andreeva Falls Prey to Giant Killer Lin Zhu After Emma Raducanu Shocker at WTA Ningbo Open 2025

Zhu Lin stuns top seed Mirra Andreeva to continue home run in Ningbo.

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

In a stunning home-soil upset, Chinese wild card Zhu Lin rallied from a set down to defeat top seed Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 16 at the Ningbo Open 2025. The victory was completed in 2 hours and 17 minutes. This marked Zhu’s second straight comeback win over a higher-ranked opponent after her opening-round triumph against Emma Raducanu.

For Andreeva, last year’s Ningbo finalist, the defeat could prove costly. With only two spots remaining for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the loss puts her qualification hopes in jeopardy, while Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina continue to chase the remaining berths.

Lin Zhu is BACK in business 👩‍🍳

After defeating Raducanu yesterday, the 31-y.o. topples top seed and last year's finalist Mirra Andreeva to reach the Ningbo QF.

Mirra's exit gives Paolini/Rybakina a stronger shot at ultimately passing her in the WTA Finals race. pic.twitter.com/dWWM2ODSSU
— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) October 15, 2025

From Injury Setback to Resurgent Form at Home

Zhu’s resurgence comes after a turbulent year marred by injury. Having missed six months due to an elbow issue, she spent the previous Asian swing watching from the sidelines. When she returned at the Australian Open, form was hard to come by, and by July, her ranking had slipped perilously close to the top 500. In Montreal, though, she advanced to the round of 16, upsetting Ekaterina Alexandrova en route, but was ousted by Jessica Bouzas. After that, her performance has been modest. She also withdrew from Seoul due to a fitness issue.

Upset alert 🚨

Lin Zhu takes out No. 1 seed Mirra Andreeva to move into the Ningbo quarterfinals 👏 #NingboOpen pic.twitter.com/yXrVbmPkrS
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 15, 2025

Now back in front of home fans, Zhu’s momentum has turned into something tangible. Her win over Andreeva, ranked inside the top 10, was her third career victory over a top-10 player and first since beating Caroline Garcia in Cleveland in 2023. Statistically, it was Andreeva’s own errors that cost her dearly, with 67 unforced errors, including 47 in the last two sets, while Zhu held firm under pressure. The Chinese player won 54% of total points and converted 6 of 15 break chances, showing superior control in the key moments.

Wow.

Zhu Lin defeats top seed and last year's runner up Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the QFs in Ningbo.

18yo Andreeva can still qualify for the WTA Finals this week, but needs to wait to Paolini and Rybakina's results. pic.twitter.com/UVmyc1QXah
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 15, 2025

The win also evens their rivalry, with Zhu avenging her loss to Andreeva in Beijing last month. Ranked No. 219 coming into Ningbo, Zhu now projects to No. 170 in the live WTA standings, a massive leap for a player once nearly written off. Up next, she faces seventh seed Diana Shnaider, who defeated Karolina Muchova in a comeback win. Shnaider leads their head-to-head 2-0, including a title win over Zhu in the 2024 Thailand Open final.

Mandatory Image Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Mirra Andreeva

Ningbo Open 2025

Rudra Dubey

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I’m an academic turned sports writer from Raipur, India, specializing in the NFL, MMA, and tennis at The Playoffs. I previously wrote for Sportskeeda and hold a B.A. and M.A. in History. My journey into sports media began far from the field, rooted in the arts and sciences. Funny enough, I didn’t grow up a sports fan; I used to see it all as just noise. But a fateful writing job introduced me to the world of sports, and what began as a gig quickly became a passion. I understood those voices aren’t noise; they’re emotions of true sports fans, and now I am one of them, writing with the same energy I once questioned.