Amanda Anisimova holds off Linda Nosková to claim China Open title

By Frank Nunns O’Connell, CNN

(CNN) — Two-time grand slam finalist Amanda Anisimova claimed the China Open women’s title on Sunday with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 win over Czech player Linda Nosková.

Anisimova, runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025, claimed victory in Beijing despite Nosková posing a significant challenge in the second set.

It was a challenge that arrived duly, as Nosková won just 12 points in a 23-minute opening set. Anisimova looked well on her way to claiming victory to continue what has been a brilliant year for the American.

But Nosková, competing in her first WTA 1000 event, fought back admirably in the second set.

The 20-year-old crucially broke Anisimova’s serve in the opening game of the second set after asserting more aggressive play.

Despite a shaky second game in which she committed back-to-back double faults, Nosková took advantage of Anisimova – who hit 17 unforced errors in the second set – to level up the match.

But the American ultimately proved too strong for the world No. 27.

Although both players were made to save break points early on in the deciding set, Nosková faltered first as Anisimova took a 4-2 lead, cutting down on the unforced errors that were her downfall in the second.

Nosková had a final opportunity to break but couldn’t take it as the world No. 4 showed her quality in the last game. The American fired a powerful backhand return winner to seal the victory, collapsing to the ground in delight.

Memorable season

Although Anisimova has had a breakout year, her season has been punctuated by disappointing losses in the Wimbledon and US Open finals to Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka, respectively.

Anisimova was also forced to pull out of the Korean Open last month with an ankle injury, underscoring another missed opportunity, but she bounced back to ensure a happy end in Beijing.

“It’s been quite a few weeks for me, for sure,” said the world No. 4, according to BBC Sport.

“I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself. I can take a lot of positives and (have made) a lot of progress… 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. That’s a huge win for me… winning the title is really incredible. I’m really happy.”

In many ways, her course to victory in the final reflected the challenges Anisimova has faced throughout the tournament. After straightforward wins over Katie Boulter and Zhang Shuai, Anisimova came from a set down in back-to-back matches against Karolina Muchová and Jasmine Paolini.

She was then given the task of facing fellow American Coco Gauff in the semifinal, the No. 2 seed and defending champion, who she defeated in straight sets.

According to the WTA, with her win, Anisimova became just the third American to capture the China Open women’s singles title, joining Serena Williams (2004 and 2013) and Gauff (2024).

Clinching the title also means she’s the first American to win multiple WTA 1000 titles in a season since Williams in 2015.

For Nosková, the loss in the final is disappointing, but beating one of the best performers this season was always going to be a tall order.

“I think it’s just the fact that she comes after every point that she possibly can,” she said in her post-match press conference.

“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, with any plan, in fact, against such fast groundstrokes.

“I just had to kind of keep my rhythm and keep my length on the balls. I feel like that’s why I won the second set. Obviously, in the third, it was much more like it was in the first one. That was tough.”

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