Champions Corner: After years of setbacks, Anisimova finds her moment

Amanda Anisimova, a prodigy among prodigies, finished as the No. 2-ranked junior in the world at the age of 15.

A week after her 16^th birthday, she became the 2017 US Open junior champion, defeating Coco Gauff in the final 6-0, 6-2. Gauff, still going by the name of Cori, was 13. At that early stage, Anisimova’s future seemed limitless.

But as the years passed and the challenges mounted, the young American’s game plateaued. At the same time, Gauff and some other junior rivals began to surpass her. Two years ago, while on an extended break from tennis, Anisimova watched as Gauff won her first Grand Slam singles title. 

When, she wondered, will it be my time -- will it ever be my time?

The answer came Saturday at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open when Anisimova -- outwardly calm and composed -- defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-3 to win her first WTA 1000 title, the biggest of her 23-year-old life. Currently at No. 41, Anisimova is projected to climb to No. 18 in the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday -- a career high.

Anisimova played her first WTA 1000 tournament nearly eight years ago in Miami but didn’t reach her first final until last summer in Toronto. Now, she’s made the finals in two of her past four 1000s -- and just collected her very first title.

This was no fluke; Anisimova beat six Top 40 players in this daunting process -- all of them ranked above her. Her first win here came against Victoria Azarenka and the last against Ostapenko, marking the first time she’s defeated multiple former major champions in the same event.

“There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears,” Anisimova said during the trophy presentation. “This week has been amazing, super special.”

Later, Anisimova fielded a handful of exclusive questions from wtatennis.com:

You looked so calm, so controlled throughout -- what was actually going on in your mind at the end?

Anisimova: Honestly, I think that the biggest asset this week that helped me win the title was my composure. Staying calm and believing in myself. When I get down on myself, I lose my focus when things start to go the other way. I was just happy I kept it together and kept that focus through the whole week.

You were the No. 2 junior in the world at the age of 15. What did it feel like to see so many of your junior rivals have success at the WTA level before you did?

Anisimova: I had a pretty solid junior career and finishing with the US Open title was super special. I also think I had a pretty smooth transition into the pros. I had some breakthroughs early on. I think I just struggled with adapting to the pro tour and just the lifestyle of it. I’m happy with the way I was able to navigate the couple of years that were tough on me. To take a break and come back on my own terms has helped me. Thank God, I’m still relatively young and, hopefully, have a few more years on tour left in me. 

When you were on your break a few years ago, did you ever wonder if you would compete for important titles again?

Anisimova: I definitely had that in the back of my mind taking that break. I knew I was going to come back eventually. I just didn’t know when that was going to be. I had a plan in mind when I was going to start practicing and return and I did it according to the timeline I predicted, which wasn’t actually too long. I just needed to take a break and focus on myself for a bit. Once I came back, I was enjoying it a lot more.

What was it that allowed you to come back and play your best tennis ever?

Anisimova: I think a lot of work on the mental side, honestly. I’ve been doing a really great job of that. Yeah, trying to enjoy the journey, the process, all the hours on the court, training. I’ve really been enjoying it. I have a really great team around me, a support system that’s been really helpful. Being away from home isn’t always easy but I’ve been enjoying the travel as well. 

What does this do for your confidence going forward?

Anisimova: It’s been a great week with a lot of great tennis. I’m definitely going into the next hard-court tournaments with some confidence and a little bit of relief that I know I can play at this high level day after day. I’m looking forward to the next three tournaments -- Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami -- which are really favorable from my end.

Here's more from an exciting week in Qatar:

Honor Roll

Jelena Ostapenko: The Latvian is still searching for her first WTA 1000 title, but her runner-up showing in Doha (her first final in 12 months) still helped turn around a difficult start to the season.

After starting 2025 1-4 and seeing her ranking slide from No. 15 to No. 37, Ostapenko brought the skid to a halt thanks to Top 5 wins over No. 4 Jasmine Paolini and No. 2 Iga Swiatek, and she is now 5-0 against Swiatek. The 2017 Roland Garros champion will now aim to rebound back to a Top 10 spot, which she held as recently as last year.

"I was working hard in the preseason, and I feel like a few matches like didn't really go my way, but I was already very close in those matches," Ostapenko said after her semifinal win over Swiatek. "I feel like now things are going more my way, and I'm more consistent on the court, and I'm just doing what I have to do and play aggressive."

Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini: The 2024 Olympic champions from Italy collected another big title, clinching their third WTA 1000 title as a team with victory in Doha.

It was a hard-fought path to the title for the Italians. In the semifinals, they saved match points to defeat Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in a rematch of the Olympic gold-medal final. Errani and Paolini then battled through two extremely tight sets to top Jiang Xinyu and Wu Fang-Hsien in the final.

Ekaterina Alexandrova: The 30-year-old is in one of the best stretches of her career. Alexandrova won the Linz title two weeks ago, then notched two Top 5 wins over No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 5 Jessica Pegula en route to the Doha semifinals. Only eventual champion Anisimova could snap her eight-match winning streak in the semifinals.

Ons Jabeur: After missing the end of last season with a shoulder injury, former World No. 2 Jabeur is putting herself back into contention in 2025. Jabeur has reached three quarterfinals this year, including at both Middle East events in Abu Dhabi and Doha. Can the Arab superstar go further this week in Dubai?

Hot Shot

Aryna Sabalenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova pulled off a mesmerizing and crafty rally in their closely contested Doha showdown.

Notable Numbers

6: Amanda Anisimova beat six straight Top 40 players to win the Doha title. She is the first American woman to defeat six Top 40 opponents in a single event since Serena Williams at the 2007 Australian Open.

68: Anisimova registered 68 backhand winners during the week, the highest amount at a single WTA event this year (excluding the Australian Open).

5: With her semifinal win, Jelena Ostapenko became the first player to defeat Iga Swiatek five times at Hologic WTA Tour-level. Swiatek is still searching for her first victory over Ostapenko.

15: Nevertheless, Swiatek holds the longest Doha winning streak in the tournament's history. The three-time defending champion got up to 15 straight wins at the event before she was ousted by Ostapenko.

From the Camera Roll

The world's Top 2 players, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, took flight during pre-event festivities.

By the end of the week, it was Amanda Anisimova who had all the right shots as she took home the title.

Next Up

The Middle East Swing breathlessly continues on with a second consecutive WTA 1000 event, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Main-draw play begins in the U.A.E on Sunday, Feb. 16.

Dubai: Draws | Scores | Order of play

The stage is already set after Saturday's main-draw reveal. Defending champion Jasmine Paolini will go for a second straight title, while top 3 seeds Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will seek a trophy before this year's Middle East Swing comes to a close.