No. 3 seed Amanda Anisimova will face No. 26 seed Linda Noskova in the championship match of the 2025 China Open.
Anisimova advanced with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 win over defending champion Coco Gauff, marking her eighth Top 10 victory of the season. She opened the tournament with straight-set wins over No. 54 Katie Boulter and wild card Shuai Zhang, then rallied for comeback wins against No. 13 seed Karolina Muchova and No. 6 Jasmine Paolini.
Anisimova and Noskova have split their previous two meetings. Noskova won their 2023 clash at Indian Wells in straight sets, while Anisimova took their latest battle in July, in three sets at Wimbledon. Despite the history, Anisimova says her preparation remains consistent.
“My mindset doesn’t change depending on who I play. My approach is going to be the same as it has been every match,” she said after her match. “But it’s definitely another challenge, a tough match for sure, especially since it’s a final.”
Noskova reached her first WTA 1000 final with a dramatic win over No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula, prevailing in a third set tiebreak. She also upset No. 7 seed Qinwen Zheng in three sets and scored straight-set victories over wild card Xiyu Wang, No. 59 Anastasia Potapova and No. 81 Sonay Kartal. This marks Noskova’s second final of the year after finishing runner-up to Marie Bouzkova in Prague. She is bidding for her second career title and first since winning the 2024 Monterrey Open.
“I will just try to focus on what I did good today and then try and do that tomorrow,” she told China Open after her match.
For Anisimova, this is her fifth final of the season. She captured her first WTA 1000 title in Doha in February by defeating Jelena Ostapenko but fell short in the final at Wimbledon to No. 2 Iga Swiatek and at the U.S. Open to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Both players are enjoying the best China Open runs of their careers. Noskova, making her second appearance in Beijing, had never made it past the second round. Anisimova, in her third trip, had never gone beyond the third round. Noskova will make her Top 20 debut in the rankings, projected to rise to No. 17 with a loss and No. 13 with a win. Anismova further solidified herself at No. 4 and also secured WTA Finals qualification.
—Reporting by Coby Spratte
Anisimova wins as Gauff struggles
In less than an hour of play, Anisimova defeated No. 2 seed Gauff 6-1, 6-2. Throughout the match Gauff grappled to find her serve, with at least one double fault for each of her service games. On defense she fell short in her returns and struggled to hit a solid shot.
“I felt pretty good going out there today,” Gauff said in a post-match interview. “I don't know, I was practicing great and then I got on the court and she completely took over.”
Anisimova now leads their series 2-1.
Anisimova said she felt surprised by her success at the China Open. It was her first tournament since a tough loss in the U.S. Open Finals, and she had a wisdom tooth removed the day before her flight to Beijing.
“Everything was just off to a bad start,” she said in a press conference after the match. “I think when I'm not feeling my best physically or I'm facing a challenge, I think I pay so much attention to that that I actually play better… I've been surprising myself and trying to learn how to work with physical pain, pushing myself in tough matches.”
Anisimova’s quick returns helped her win five consecutive games in the first set to lead 5-0. The players then held for Anisimova to take the set. She cruised through the second set, winning the first fives game again. Gauff then broke serve at 5-0 and the players then held until Anisimova won the match.
“I felt really good throughout the whole match, like all my shots were working today, which is like my favorite way to play,” Anisimova said “I didn't really have to adjust much.”
Depending on how things play out the rest of the season, Anisimova could possibly overtake Gauff and become the highest-ranked American on the tour.
—Reporting by Rebecca Jackson and Dane Vogel
Noskova saves three match points to edge Pegula in three-set thriller
No. 26 seed Noskova entered as the underdog against No. 5 seed Pegula, who was vying for her sixth final appearance of the season, yet Noskova won 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (6). The 20-year-old from Czechia struck first, breaking Pegula’s serve to take a 4-2 lead before closing out the first set 6-3 with the same aggression she showed in her quarterfinal win. Pegula answered in the second set, breaking serve twice to dominate 6-1 and force a decisive third set.
The final set was a rollercoaster from the start, with Pegula and Noskova trading breaks in each of the first four games. Noskova finally held after saving three break points for a 3-2 edge, only for Pegula to level at 3-3 on her sixth game point. The two stayed on serve to 5-5 before Pegula seized control, breaking with the help of a Noskova double fault and forehand error. Serving for the match, Pegula raced ahead 40-15 but faltered, squandering three match points, including one on a double fault, as Noskova clawed back to force a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, Noskova quickly fell behind 1-3 after a net-cord ricochet went against her and a double fault. Pegula then squandered momentum, sending an easy overhead long before missing consecutive backhands to give Noskova a 4-3 lead. Another Pegula double fault and forehand miss put her down 4-5, but she steadied with a backhand winner down the line to even it at 6-6. Noskova responded with aggressive hitting to reclaim the mini-break at 7-6, then sealed the 8-6 victory when Pegula’s final forehand sailed wide. Noskova. The 20-year-old collapsed to her knees and cupped her face as she secured her spot in the China Open final.
“It was just lots of emotions,” she said about the moment. “I’ve had a lot of matches this year that didn’t really go my way, so that was going through my head, too. I’m just really glad I can have a different feeling after this match.”
—Reporting by Coby Spratte
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