Anisimova sustains mastery over Swiatek to punch WTA Finals semis ticket

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Amanda Anisimova continued to have Iga Swiatek’s number.

For the second consecutive time in their head-to-head meeting, the 24-year-old American ace got the better of the six-time Grand Slam champion, booting her out of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals tournament, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, on Nov. 5, 2025, at the King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh.

Fresh off a one-sided domination during her US Open quarterfinal triumph over Swiatek, Anisimova outplayed the Polish netter in the last two sets to secure a semifinal qualification in the season-ending championship of the WTA Tour.

Anisimova bucked a heartbreaking opening set loss after folding to Swiatek in the deciding tiebreaker phase, 3-7, and was in deep trouble of facing early elimination.

However, Anisimova shrugged off the first-set drama and buckled down to work when the second frame kicked off, gaining footing after cracking Swiatek with consecutive down-the-line forehand winners.

After 23 straight games of service holds, Anisimova finally got the upper hand and scored the first break point midway through the second that officially changed the complexion of the match.

Anisimova followed up her break point with a hold to level the thrilling quarterfinal matchup at 1-all to set up the highly anticipated third-set decider.

From an error-plagued start, Anisimova settled in during the final four games of the second set to frustrate Swiatek.

For the first time in her professional career, Swiatek dropped back-to-back WTA matches after leading 1-0, suffering another early exit in the circuit.

Anisimova didn’t waste any time capitalizing on the moment and ran down Swiatek in the third with two break points, backstopped by a series of victories in the long rally exchanges.

Despite conceding the first set, Anisimova still won the offensive battle with 107 total points won, including three break points and 41 on the return.

“I feel like I belong at this point and I’ve played a lot of tough matches this year,” Anisimova said after pulling off the impressive win.

“I know my capabilities. And I know if I can play my best tennis, I can give it my best shot. I knew it was going to be really tough, and I was preparing for that. Yeah, I think I just tried to enjoy it.”