Amanda Anisimova’s rise in the back half of the tennis season became one of the biggest stories of 2025.
In early June, she left Paris as the world No.15 following a fourth-round defeat at Roland Garros. She ended the season inside the top five after reaching back-to-back Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, claiming the WTA 1000 title in Beijing, and debuting at the elite eight-player WTA Finals.
Never before had Anisimova finished a season inside the top 20, but now, at a career peak of world No.4, she enters next month’s Australian Open with incredible momentum and confidence behind her.
“I feel like I’m playing to my full potential,” Anisimova said after her China Open triumph, a result helping her build a 28-8 record since Roland Garros.
“I’m doing all the right things and working really hard as opposed to a few years ago when I felt like I wasn’t competing or performing to my full potential.”
That potential was obvious from a young age, when the American was a world-leading junior who won the 2017 US Open girls’ singles title. Two years later, at age 17, she stormed into the Roland Garros women’s semifinals, outplaying defending champion Simona Halep along the way.
The ball-striking ability was always there, especially from the backhand wing – a shot many observers believe could be the purest, most devastating stroke in the game.
PODCAST: Anisimova’s “learning process” to becoming a superstar
Yet in 2025, it became clear Anisimova had bolstered that baseline weaponry with improved movement, a more effective serve, and mental strength that has become a defining element in her journey.
Forced to contend with the death of her father in August 2019, Anisimova then successfully returned from an eight-month mental health break in 2023, and rebounded from a dispiriting 6-0 6-0 defeat to Iga Swiatek in her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in July.
The fact she was able to turn the tables on Swiatek in the US Open quarterfinals, and survive a Naomi Osaka onslaught in the semis to reach a second consecutive Slam final, was nothing short of inspiring.
“I think it just shows that I have worked really hard, especially on my mental game and not giving up,” Anisimova reflected. “I think I have really worked on myself to really be able to handle those moments and to believe in myself, even when it feels like: what is there to believe in, in a way, like, when you're not playing that well?
“I think I have really done a better job of that, and especially since the Wimbledon final. I think I have really shifted with my attitude.”
In a season of breakthroughs, which began in February with her first WTA 1000 title in Doha, Anisimova forced people to really sit up and take notice thanks to her Wimbledon semifinal win over world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.
She’s beaten Sabalenka before, but not on the big stage of Centre Court, and rarely when Sabalenka was the game’s leading player and Grand Slam force as she is today. Six years after first appearing in a major semifinal, Anisimova had finally taken a step further.
Then came her revenge victory over world No.2 Swiatek in New York, and a thumping 6-1 6-2 win over world No.3 Coco Gauff en route to the Beijing title. By the time she beat AO 2025 winner Madison Keys at the WTA Finals, she was the only player this year to defeat all four women’s Grand Slam champions of 2025.
She ended the year with 47 match wins – by far her highest tally in a single season – and a sparkling 10-5 record against top-10 opponents.
The fact she thrived against the game’s best players, on the grandest stages, bodes well when she heads to Melbourne Park in 2026 and targets a third straight Grand Slam final.
“It’s been a surreal year for me,” Anisimova said in a late-season interview with New York Post Sports. “I think a lot of highs, a lot of achievements that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to achieve, at least not this year.
“It’s just been so great, and I had so many great experiences and memories, and just really looking forward to next year.”