Anisimova cruises past Boulter in China Open second round

No. 3 seed Amanda Anisimova beat Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3 on Friday, Sept. 26, to reach the third round of the 2025 China Open. It was Anisimova’s first match since falling to top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open final.

The 24-year-old American is enjoying the best season of her career, with two Grand Slam finals appearances and her first career WTA 1000 singles title at the Qatar Total Open. Friday’s win marked her 38th tour-level win of 2025. She also improved her hard court record to 20-8 for the year. 

Anisimova seized control of the match early. With the first set tied 1-1, she saved a break point to hold serve, then broke Boulter’s serve in the next game and won three more straight games to close out the set 6-1. At 2-2 in the second set, Boulter double-faulted twice in a row at deuce, handing Anisimova the break. Anisimova then held serve with three aces. Later, leading 5-3, she broke Boulter’s serve again, finishing with a backhand down the line, to seal the match in 1 hour, 19 minutes. 

This is Anisimova’s third main-draw appearance at the China Open. Last year she reached the fourth round before losing to Qinwen Zheng.

“I’m super excited to be back in Beijing. I love playing here and I love the city, so it’s really good to be back and win my first round,” she said after the match. 

Anisimova will face Chinese wild card World No. 112 Shuai Zhang in the third round. Zhang is one of six Chinese women who made it to the second round. 

— Reporting by Coby Spratte