Anisimova delivers knockout punch, ends Gauff’s title defense in Beijing

In a high-profile showdown between two of the sport’s brightest young talents, Amanda Anisimova made quick work of defending champion Coco Gauff on Saturday in Beijing.

Beijing: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The No. 3 seed needed only 58 minutes to dispatch the No. 2 seed Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-2 in an all-American semifinal, advancing to her first China Open final and second WTA 1000 final of the season.

On Sunday (7 a.m. ET), she’ll face Linda Noskova in what will be her fifth final overall of 2025.

After the match, Anisimova said she’s feeling strong and ready to build on her momentum.

“I was just excited to play here in my first semifinal,” Anisimova said. “I was able to put on a really good performance, and I knew I was going to have to play very well against Coco if I wanted to get the win, and yeah, I’m really excited to be in the final.”

The matchup didn’t unfold as expected, with Gauff struggling early and unable to find her rhythm throughout.

Anisimova, meanwhile, was locked in from the first serve.

Anisimova, 24, won the first five games before Gauff finally got on the board late in the opening set to avoid a shutout. Anisimova closed out the set in 27 minutes, winning more than twice as many points as her opponent.

The second set followed a similar pattern. Anisimova again jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Gauff showed a brief flash of the form that carried her to the semifinals, breaking serve and following it with a hold to once again avoid a bagel.

But the rally was short-lived, as Anisimova closed out the match just shy of the one-hour mark, delivering the knockout blow to Gauff’s title defense in Beijing.

With the win, Anisimova improved to 2-1 in her career head-to-head record against Gauff and became only the third American to reach the China Open women’s singles final, joining Serena Williams (2004, 2013) and Gauff (2024).

She also became the only player to defeat Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Gauff this season.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s final, Anisimova holds a 1-1 record against Noskova.

“I love playing here,” Anisimova said. “The crowd support has been so amazing since the first day that I got here, and I really think that’s carried me through this entire tournament. So hopefully everyone can come out and support me again in the final.”