Australian icon Rennae Stubbs has recently shared her thoughts on the current World No. 4, Amanda Anisimova, selecting her as her No. 2 player of 2025 ahead of Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, and other elite stars.
While shedding light on her 2025 season, Stubbs shared her honest take on Anisimova’s achievements, losses, and her impressive run at the WTA Finals, during which she had made her debut.
Why Did Rennae Stubbs Select Amanda Anisimova As Her Second Pick for 2025 Among Other Elites?
The young American star ended her season with the WTA Finals, where she captured two group stage wins against Świątek and Madison Keys, lost to eventual champion Elena Rybakina, and lost the semifinal to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Anisimova had one of her best seasons in 2025, during which she won the Qatar Open and the China Open.
Apart from this, she was also the runner-up at two prestigious Grand Slam tournaments: the US Open, where she lost to Sabalenka, and the Wimbledon Championships, which she lost in a double bagel, 6-0, 6-0, to the Polish sensation.
Anisimova also delivered notable performances, reaching the semifinal round at the Charleston Open and quarterfinal rounds at the Trophée Clarins and the Berlin Tennis Open tournaments.
During the recent episode of “The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast”, the former player-turned-coach, analyst, and television commentator noted the impressive run of Anisimova during her 2025 season and how notable her comeback was after suffering one of the most considerable losses of her career.
She shared with her co-host, Caitlin Thompson, co-founder of Racquet Magazine, “Amanda Anisimova, in a Wimbledon final, and not win a game, and after having an incredible tournament, beating incredible players including Sabalenka in the semifinals, in an incredible match, one of the matches of the year and then to loose 0 and 0 (0-6, 0-6) in the biggest moment of her career, I mean, I cannot imagine what that felt like for her.”
She continued, “It’s like insane, and then, comes back, not only does she have an incredible bounce back, but she beats that player, that she did not win a game against, she beats in her next couple of times, which is like unheard of, including at the US Open.”
Stubbs highlighted that she would pick the Freehold Township, New Jersey, native as her second-best despite her not winning a Grand Slam title in her 2025 season, focusing on her endurance and steadfastness.
Furthermore, she mentioned, “So, Amanda Anisimova definitely gets my No. 2 even though she didn’t win a major, I just think her consistency throughout the year, at big tournaments, winning her first WTA 1000 over in the Middle East, and just backing it up the results and particularly her resilience after losing 0 and 0 at the Wimbledon.”
The winner of 60 WTA doubles titles, including four major doubles titles, also drew attention to the fact that Anisimova’s rebound after suffering huge losses is remarkable, adding that in her WTA Finals debut, she reached the semifinal round, a testament to her excellence.
Adding, “I don’t think people understand, like, how unbelievably good that was to bounce back from and then win a tournament again in Asia, in China, a huge tournament, makes her first WTA finals, not only make her WTA finals appearance, but gets through to the semifinals, which let me tell you is really hard to do.”
Anisimova ended her 2025 season with 47 wins and 18 losses while earning more than $7 million in prize money.
