BEIJING/WASHINGTON, October 6, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
After winning her second WTA 1000 title this season – and fourth tour-level crown overall – at the China Open in Beijing Sunday evening, Amanda Anisimova admitted that she’s learned a lot about herself in the past two weeks. Playing halfway around the world, especially after having had her wisdom teeth removed the day she flew from the United States to China, can contribute toward changing one’s perspective. So can having a good support team, too.
After reaching five finals in 2025 – including back-to-back majors at Wimbledon and US Open this summer – the 24-year-old American is at the top of her game, as Anisimova’s World No. 4 ranking can attest to.
“Yeah, it’s been quite a few weeks for me here, for sure,” Anismiova said, after defeating 27th-ranked Linda Noskova of Czechia, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2, to win the China Open trophy and more than $1.1 million (USD) in prize money. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself. I think, like, I can take a lot of positives and look at it as a lot of progress for me just figuring out ways to face certain challenges and push myself in moments when it feels like I can’t go any further. I feel like in that sense I learned that I’m stronger than I think.
“Yeah, that’s a huge win for me. On top of also getting to the final and winning the title is really incredible. I’m really happy about that.”
A victory to savor
A second WTA 1000 title in the bag for @AnisimovaAmanda.#2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/KmHKk21l1Y
— wta (@WTA) October 5, 2025
Noskova, who will breaking into the WTA Top 20 at a career-high No. 17 this week after her runner-up finish, gave props to Anisimova during her post-match news conference. She said: “Obviously, Amanda is an amazing player. She has been playing just too strong throughout this whole season.
“I think it’s just the fact that she comes after every point that she possibly can. It’s definitely her powerful serve that she starts the rally with. Then, she just continues to play as much down the line as possible. Sometimes, it’s just hard to come up with anything, just with any plan, in fact, against such fast groundstrokes.”
Against Noskova, Anisimova struck 36 winners, converted five of eight break points and benefited from 22 unforced errors by her opponent. Anisimova outpointed Noskova 85-68.
Anisimova’s title victory improved her 2025 win-loss record to 43-15. En route to winning her second WTA 1000 crown this season following her earlier triumph in Doha last February, she qualified for the WTA Finals by reaching the semifinals in Beijing. Currently, Anisimova is one of four Americans, along with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, who will head to Riyadh in November to compete for the year-end WTA title.
Amanda Anisimova’s winning moment
She is crowned the best in Beijing #2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/ssozsKsckl
— wta (@WTA) October 5, 2025
Throughout Anisimova’s well-documented tennis career, which has been filled with potential and promise as well as heartbreak and self-doubt, she’s remained resilient.
“I think they’re just normal human experiences,” said Anisimova, who has dealt with processing the sudden death of her father and coach, Konstantin, due to a sudden heart attack at age 52 in 2019 on the eve of the US Open, as well taking a mental health break from tennis, in which she sat out the second half of the 2023 season before returning to the WTA Tour in early 2024.
“I think your mind can play tricks on you and tell you you can’t keep going, if there’s certain pains you’re having, I don’t know, even negativity that shows up. I think that’s just part of my learning process, just getting better with each day.
“I think the mental game is so important for an athlete. I’m still constantly learning and trying to get better in that department. I think there’s always room for improvement there.
“Yeah, that’s why I said that this week has been really great for me in terms of pushing myself and learning ways to keep myself in check and to keep, I don’t know, pushing myself and being mentally strong.
“We as athletes don’t feel great day in, day out. I think that’s just part of the learning process.”
A second WTA 1000 title for Amanda Anisimova!
She comes out on top 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 against Noskova to become champion in Beijing #2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/fMdYzFzQW2
— wta (@WTA) October 5, 2025
En route to winning the Beijing title, Anisimova strung together wins over Katie Boulter, Zhang Shuai, Karolina Muchova, Jasmine Paolini, Gauff and Noskova. Her victory over Gauff was arguably one of her best performances of the season. She dropped just three sets the entire tournament.
“I think the happiest moment today was getting over the finish line,” Anismova said. “There’s no feeling like it really when you are finally able to win the championship point. That was obviously the highlight of my week. Hugging my team.”
Anisimova’s main mentor is Dutch coach Hendrik (Rick) Vleeshouwers, who joined her team in 2023 and has focused on developing her on-court toughness and composure. She also works with a performance coach, Rob Brandsma, who has coached her for several years, and a physiotherapist, Shadi Soleymani. They were all aboard for Anisimova’s title run in Beijing.
“Yeah, there were obviously some really tough moments where I was thinking of pulling out a few times,” Anisimova admitted. “Yeah, I think those were, like, the hardest moments because you’re trying to have a conversation with yourself and figure out what’s the best decision to make.”
“OMG Love you Beijing”
A message from your #2025ChinaOpen women’s singles champion. pic.twitter.com/Bp7tg0yhL9— China Open (@ChinaOpen) October 5, 2025
Looking back, Anismova said she’s glad she never gave up, never gave in.
“Yeah, I’m just really happy that I was able to stick it through and also trust myself and my team, who informed me about my body. Yeah, just trusting and believing in them and myself,” Anisimova said before getting ready to head to Wuhan and another WTA 1000 event, where she’s seeded fourth and could face Pegula in the quarterfinals and World No. 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
“It’s a huge win for all of us. I think we’re just excited to keep going strong.
“Yeah, I feel like we’re always trying to improve and try and go for more. It’s been an incredible year for all of us. Just really happy, again, to have shared this moment with them. Hopefully, we can keep going strong for the rest of the season.”
Another trophy for @AnisimovaAmanda‘s cabinet #2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/vQ3vLzawST
— wta (@WTA) October 5, 2025
