In this wide-open Wimbledon women’s draw, Amanda Anisimova’s name frequently emerged in pre-tournament discussions and predictions.
During the 2025 Wimbledon draw breakdown episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Roddick stated: “I’ve got Anisimova through to the quarters.”
“Oh man, me too!” exclaimed episode guest Jon Wertheim, the tennis analyst who along with Roddick predicted Anisimova would go on to reach the semifinals.
This was also the belief of Tennis Channel host Prakash Amritraj and historian and writer Joel Drucker, who both earmarked Anisimova as a semifinalist in tennis.com’s Expert Picks for Wimbledon.
And on The Tennis Podcast’s draw dissection episode, co-host Matt Roberts declared: "I'm going to say it live on air right now – I think if Amanda Anisimova beats Yulia Putintseva, she's reaching the semis.”
Well, Anisimova did beat Yulia Putintseva. And not only that, she did so without the loss of a single game.
On Monday at the All England Club, Anisimova handed Putintseva a 6-0 6-0 defeat for just the second time in Kazakhstani’s professional career, and the first in almost eight years.
Anisimova completed the double-bagel in 44 minutes, striking 18 winners to Putintseva’s one while keeping her own unforced error count to a tidy 10.
It was an extraordinary result, especially considering Putintseva’s prowess on grass.
Last year, the 30-year-old won the WTA Birmingham title and carried that grasscourt form into Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round after a stunning come-from-behind upset of then-world No.1 Iga Swiatek.
The Swiatek win took her grass-court winning streak to eight in 2024, yet in 2025 it’s been tougher going for Putintseva, who won only one of her four lead-up matches to Wimbledon.
Anisimova, meanwhile, has been flying.
The 23-year-old was a finalist at Queen’s Club on grass, then reached the WTA Berlin quarterfinals. With her win over Putintseva, she improves to 7-2 on grass this season.
In her last Grand Slam tournament, Anisimova progressed to the fourth round at Roland Garros where she lost to Sabalenka – her projected semifinal opponent at Wimbledon.
The American is seeded 13th this year at SW19, her highest-ever Grand Slam seeding. It’s a position made possible by her excellent form in 2025, which delivered her the WTA 1000 title in Doha, a win-loss record of 26-12 and a peak ranking of 12th, attained this week.
Anisimova’s game – anchored by clean, flat, decisive ballstriking – took her to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2022. A semifinal run would not be unprecedented, given she reached the same stage at Roland Garros as a 17-year-old in 2019.
In Paris she overpowered defending champion Simona Halep in a watershed result announcing her as a rising star of the sport.
Six years later at Wimbledon, where Mexico’s Renata Zarazua is her next opponent, Anisimova has taken a decisive first step towards matching that result.
“With the caveat that I am underestimating [No.4 seed] Jasmine Paolini… [No.8 seed] Zheng Qinwen as we know is in this quarter,” Roberts pointed out on The Tennis Podcast.
“Well, [Anisimova] finally got a win over Zheng Qinwen, and it was on grass, it was only a couple of weeks ago [at Queen’s].
"I like this draw for her. I think there's a lot of players there who maybe aren't in the best form, or they're players against whom she can really take the initiative.”