Amanda Anisimova bounced back from a set down to send Madison Keys to a second successive defeat at the WTA Finals.
The American star who reached two Grand Slam finals in 2025 – losing to Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open – has now given herself a fighting chance of making the semifinal.
Anisimova was left surprised by Elena Rybakina in her first round robin match, with the Kazakhstani star now qualified for the last four with a match to spare.
Anisimova was praised going into the tournament after she chose to take some time off after winning the China Open in October to prepare properly for this event.
Now, she will face a huge match with Swiatek later this week and a win will see her progress to the semifinal in her maiden year playing in the WTA Finals.
Amanda Anisimova shares what she got badly wrong vs Madison Keys
Keys did brilliantly well to take the first set from Anisimova, and the American’s participation in the tournament was almost over before it’d even started.
Although she dug deep and got the victory, Anisimova shared afterwards that she thought she got things wrong at the start of the match, admitting she needed to make some tweaks.
She told Sky Sports Tennis: “I think I just tried to resort to more of a Plan B. She was playing some really great tennis and for sure made it difficult, but I tried to find a way to dig deep and I wanted to leave having some of a fight out there and a good match, so I’m happy with the adjustments I made today.
“It’s still something that I’m working through. I don’t think my attitude was the best at the beginning. Every match has been a challenge for me here and I’m trying to find my way. I’m really happy with how I was able to turn it around, and I’ve definitely done a few things throughout the year which has helped me to turn matches around, so I’m definitely happy with that.”
Anisimova has done superbly well to not only make the WTA Finals but also enjoy a solid second half of the year and actually come from nowhere to force her way into the event.
As a very ambitious player, she’s confessed that it was always a target of hers this year. She continued: “I actually was, but it was a far reach. It was looking into the future and it was going to be a combination of results. I was just trying to do my best this year and I think I really focused on the day in and day out of the work and that’s what got me here. So it’s not like it was set in my mind to be here, and I’m really happy I am.”
What Tim Henman said about Amanda Anisimova
Henman was covering the match for Sky television, and he watched on as Anisimova came from behind, showing all of her resilience to progress from the match with a victory.
He admitted that there was one thing that Anisimova did during the match that he really liked, praising her once she’d conducted her post-match interview.
He said: “She knows and understands her capabilities and when it’s not going her way, sometimes she can be a bit frustrated and hard on herself, so instead of trying to play the next point, she is perhaps dwelling on the past.
“But because she has experience, she is now understanding how she can get the best out of herself and I think that’s what is impressive and what she will take a lot of satisfaction from.”
Amanda Anisimova does something that only three players have managed in 2025
Anisimova certainly isn’t short of determination and heart, with her game essentially built on not throwing in the towel until the words, game, set and match have been said following a win over her opponent.
The player has now won 44 of the 60 matches she has played in 2025, with only three other players managing to win more than her during the calendar year.
Anisimova is now on 44 wins, with Sabalenka claiming 50 wins, Iga Swiatek claiming victory on 48 occasions, and Coco Gauff coming out on top on 46 occasions.
The immediate challenge is to go as far as possible at the WTA Finals for Anisimova but it won’t be too long before she’s flicking her focus towards the Australian Open and trying to get over the line at a Grand Slam.
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