It was a breakthrough season for American rising star #AmandaAnisimova as she proved her credentials through a series of impressive results in 2018, showing everyone in the world that she is the next big thing in tennis in the next decade to come. Breaking into the top-100 for the first time in her career, Anisimova went on to reach her maiden WTA final amidst her injury struggles mid-way through the season.
Ending the year with an extraordinarily impressive overall win-loss record of 24-9 (.727) for a 17-year-old youngster, Anisimova achieved new feats in her career. She claimed her first-ever top-10 win, and accounting for just WTA main draw matches, she owns a decent 15-7 (.682) win-loss record.
High Points of the Season
Anisimova’s rise started with a good run at the WTA 125k event in Indian Wells, as part of the Oracle Challenger Series. She eased through the qualifying rounds before routing her higher-ranked opponents en route to a semifinal run where she fell to experienced veteran Sara Errani in straight sets.
Her success allowed her to earn a wildcard for the BNP Paribas Open, where she made full use of the opportunity to mount a deep run. Stunning world number 23 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova within just an hour of play, Anisimova went on to stun the in-form ninth-ranked Petra Kvitova in straight sets although she fell to Karolina Pliskova in the fourth round.
Making her return from a broken ankle in July at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, Anisimova survived the qualifying rounds before strolling past Wang Qiang in the opening round. Her amazing comeback elevated her ranking after her lengthy layoff almost caused her to fall out of the top-200.
Being one of the biggest prospects in tennis, Anisimova received a wildcard to compete at the Western and Southern Open. She upset the hard-hitting Timea Babos in the first round and followed it up with another victory over Petra Martic to set up a mouthwatering clash against fifth seed Elina Svitolina. In a high-quality encounter, Anisimova came off second best against the Ukrainian.
Anisimova’s best result of the year came towards the end of the year during the Asian swing. Participating at the Japan Women’s Open, Anisimova successfully qualified for the main draw as the top seed in qualifying before going on to reach the semifinals with the loss of just eight games in the process. There, she endured through a tough battle against Zhang Shuai but nerves overwhelmed the youngster in her maiden WTA final, falling to Hsieh Su-wei 2-6, 2-6 eventually. Nonetheless, this run allowed her to crack the top-100 for the first time in her career.
Low Points of the Season
Anisimova opted to skip the entire Australian swing and instead started her season in mid-January. She competed in the WTA 125k series event in Newport Beach and successfully got through the qualifying rounds before being stunned by fellow qualifier Mayo Hibi in the second round of the main draw. It was a huge opportunity blew by the American, although she made amendments for it at Indian Wells later on.
After all her achievements in Indian Wells where she made a name for herself on the international stage, Anisimova entered the Miami Open with even higher expectations placed on her. The local favourite received a wildcard into the main draw and defeated the higher-ranked Wang Qiang despite experiencing a bad-looking fall in the midst. She persevered with the pain but a post-match MRI scan found out that she had broken an ankle, forcing her to withdraw from a mouth-watering clash against Garbine Muguruza ultimately.
Being handed yet another wildcard into the US Open, Anisimova failed to make full use of her chance and was shocked in the opening round by compatriot Taylor Townsend. Anisimova was tipped to upset several higher-ranked players in the draw and mount a deep run but the pressure weighed on her and a poor performance ensued.
Looking to end the year on a high, Anisimova realized she had a lot to work on as she suffered consecutive first-round exits in the qualifying draws of both the Wuhan Open and the China Open against players she had a decent chance of defeating. Furthermore, the American youngster ended 2018 with a poor three-match losing streak.
Season Grade: B
It has been a relatively wonderful season for Anisimova, who skyrocketed up the rankings within a blink of an eye. The American has started proving that she can challenge the best in the world and has expressed her interest in belonging to that elite batch of players as well. Consistent results and performances elevated her ranking into the top-100, although she would have done much more had she not broken her ankle in March.
Nonetheless, without the injury issues, Anisimova has been performing really well and has the potential to rise even further in 2019 after having the necessary ranking to enter WTA tournaments on a regular basis.
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