Coco Gauff opened up about Amanda Anisimova’s level after losing to her in the China Open semifinals.
How Did Coco Gauff Assess Amanda Anisimova’s Level of Play in Beijing?
Gauff, the defending champion in Beijing, pieced together a strong run before her title defense was cut short. She started with a commanding 6-4, 6-0 win over Kamilla Rakhimova and followed up with a hard-fought victory over No. 25 seed Leylah Fernandez, edging the Canadian 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
In the Round of 16, she overcame 15th seed Belinda Bencic in another three-set battle, rallying from a set down to win 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. A straight-sets victory over Eva Lys, 6-3, 6-4, pushed her into the semifinals, where she ran into Anisimova’s red-hot form.
Meanwhile, third seed Anisimova had been equally impressive. She dispatched Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3 in her opener before taking out China’s Zhang Shuai 7-6(11), 6-0. In the Round of 16, she fought past 13th seed Karolína Muchová 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, and then delivered a dominant performance to oust Gauff in just 58 minutes, 6-1, 6-2. The result propelled her into her third career WTA 1000 final.
BEIJING FINALIST 👊@AnisimovaAmanda beats Gauff 6-1, 6-2 to reach her second WTA 1000 final of the year 🙌#2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/aCSS61NvWK
— wta (@WTA) October 4, 2025
In her post-match press conference, Gauff was asked how she would rank Anisimova’s playing style compared to others on tour. The World No. 3 gave a candid response: “I mean, she’s definitely one of the best out of those I’ve played. Yeah, for sure her and Aryna are tough when they’re playing that level of tennis. I felt like today, no matter what I did, I just couldn’t get into the match. So yeah, I’m going to take this and learn from it.”
Anisimova’s triumph gave her the edge in her rivalry with Gauff, which had been locked at 1-1 before the match. The World No. 4 will now battle for the title against either compatriot Jessica Pegula or 26th seed Linda Nosková.
Looking ahead, Gauff is set to compete next at the WTA 1000 event in Wuhan, scheduled for Oct. 6-12, marking her second appearance at the tournament. She made her Wuhan Open debut last year, where she defeated Viktoriya Tomova, Marta Kostyuk, and Magda Linette to reach the semifinals, where she lost 6-1, 4-6, 4-6 to the top seed and eventual champion Sabalenka.
