"The way she hits it is just…it’s just poetry in motion" - Anisimova's backhand among the best, but serve under scrutiny

Amanda Anisimova has had her praise rung around her for some time now. An incredible 2025 campaign saw her rise up the tennis pecking order to become one of the world's best. Former Grand Slam semi-finalist Alexandra Stevenson compared her to some of the most talented tennis players to grace the court but also found some areas of improvements within her game.

The WTA Tour in 2025 saw a lot of winners throughout the campaign, with the competitive nature of the field seeing many new players emerging and taking the reins. We have seen four different Grand Slam champions throughout the season, and while a lot of them have been players already firmly at the hierarchy of the sport, new challengers have risen from the depths.

One of them is Anisimova. Another day she could be on the coveted list of major winners after coming close on two occasions. She made a name for herself at the start of the year after picking up the Qatar Open. The talent promised at a young age was starting to blossom on the main stage. This would be obvious to see at Wimbledon. She reached the semi-finals before knocking out world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a seismic upset. However, the fairytale run would go up in flames as Iga Swiatek collected her sixth Grand Slam in ruthless fashion, with the American not winning a single game.

Nevertheless, her mentality was portrayed to the highest standards after recovering from such a devastating loss to bounce back and reach the US Open final. Enroute, she dumped out Swiatek before setting up a tie with Sabalenka. This time the Belarusian proved too strong, edging her in straight sets to regain her title. Anisimova would finish the year as world number four after picking up the China Open title and culminating in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals.

Stevenson was in full praise of the 24-year-old after a terrific season. Her praise came in the highest regard, linking her backhand to former world number one's.

“That backhand is technically sound and it is a pure strike, it’s much like Lindsay Davenport’s backhand, the technique, Tracy Austin’s backhand," she stated on The Inside-In Tennis Podcast. "You can go down the list of the best backhands and the way she hits it is just…it’s just poetry in motion, because you watch how she hits the ball and it’s like everybody should look at that on the backhand side."

Moving onto her serve, and Stevenson saw an area where she could improve. She pinpointed the importance of a big serve in the women's game, highlighting Elena Rybakina's run to the WTA Finals title and her impressive record with serving.

“Now, the serve she could use a couple of adjustments," Stevenson admitted. "I feel like because the women’s game, the serve is not a high priority and there’s a lot of issues within the top 10 in serving, that’s why [Elena] Rybakina won the year-end [WTA] Finals indoors. But, Amanda I feel like can beef up her serve, defence, and that will get her to win a Grand Slam.”

Anisimova has had the chance to practice and build upon her game in the off-season, competing in a brace of exhibitions in her home country. She faced off Jessica Pegula in A Racquet at The Rock in New Jersey before participating in the Miami Invitational. Despite losing her first matchup against the American number three, she finally got a maiden win over the former US Open finalist in Florida. She now averts her full gaze to a fast start to the 2026 season as she continues to look up in the rankings. She will participate in a star-studded field in the Brisbane International from January 5-11 before the Australian Open commences from January 18 - February 1.