Anisimova turns pressure into China Open triumph
After a season of finals that tested her resolve, Amanda Anisimova channeled mounting expectations into a gritty victory over Linda Noskova, claiming her second WTA 1000 title on Beijing’s hard courts.
Amanda Anisimova’s 2025 has been a whirlwind of high-stakes battles, launching with a WTA 1000 victory in Doha last February. She has since pushed into three more finals, marking her first Grand Slam appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open, while locking in a debut at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. That elusive second title arrived in Beijing, where she edged Linda Noskova 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 over 1 hour and 46 minutes, her first China Open crown and fourth career trophy.
Blasting through the opening set
Anisimova exploded out of the gates, her inside-out forehands pinning Noskova deep and unraveling the Czech’s baseline rhythm under Beijing’s autumn light. The one–two combinations of heavy serves and crosscourt replies forced errors, securing a swift 6-0 bagel as the crowd’s energy swelled with each point. Her mental edge, forged from a year of close calls, kept the pressure unrelenting, varying depths to exploit any hesitation.
Noskova absorbed the early barrage but showed flashes of fight, her flat backhand occasionally slicing through lapses in Anisimova’s positioning. Yet the American’s focus held firm, turning frustration from prior finals into precise aggression that dictated the tempo. This opening dominance set a tone of no surrender, the Beijing Scores capturing every decisive stroke.
Countering the Czech resurgence
Momentum flipped in the second set as Noskova settled in, her down-the-line returns targeting Anisimova’s second serve and leveling the match at 6-2 with sharp underspin slices that disrupted footwork on the grippy hard courts. The atmosphere thickened with tension, fans leaning forward as rallies stretched and errors crept into the American’s game. Noskova’s improved movement forced Anisimova into defensive net play, testing the resilience built over months of near-misses.
Anisimova regrouped at the changeover, drawing on Doha’s hard-court lessons to reset her patterns and neutralize the Czech’s growing confidence. Beijing’s medium pace amplified her flatter groundstrokes, pulling Noskova wide with inside-in forehands before finishing crosscourt. The Draws for the tournament had mapped this path, but only her tactical adjustments kept the decider in reach.
Adapting to seal the breakthrough
In the third set, Anisimova elevated her serve to over 70% first balls, setting up short 1–2 punches that Noskova couldn’t redirect amid the late humidity. She mixed underspin to the forehand side, drawing errors and opening the court for winners, closing 6-2 with the quiet steel of someone who thrives under stakes. This victory, her second at WTA 1000 level, dissolves the season’s scars into momentum for Riyadh.
The Order of play had set the stage for this clash, yet Anisimova’s growth in blending power with placement turned it into a statement. As confetti rained and the crowd erupted, she emerged stronger, her unyielding belief promising more triumphs where psychology and precision collide on the tour’s grandest stages.
