Anisimova breaks out in Indian Wells

Just six months after winning the 2017 US Open girls’ singles title, Amanda Anisimova is now making her mark on the WTA Tour.

The 16-year-old American served notice this weekend by blitzing past No. 23 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round and No. 9 Petra Kvitova in the third round to reach the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

Anisimova, who came into the tournament without a WTA-level win to her name, suddenly notched her first Top 10 victory with a 6-2, 6-4 upset over Kvitova on Sunday. The Czech has been one of the in-form WTA players, riding a 14-match winning streak after claiming consecutive titles at the St. Petersburg Open and the Qatar Total Open.

After storming through a 28-minute first set, Anisimova was pegged back early in the second by the two-time Wimbledon champion. The American fell behind 3-1 but then reeled off four straight games to set up her career-best victory in just over an hour. 

Despite entering the tournament as the youngest woman in the draw, Anisimova has not dropped a set and has not lost more than six games in any of her three matches in the desert. She will face No. 5 Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Here’s more on the rising star.

The Amanda Anisimova File

Age: 16

Birthplace: Freehold, N.J.

Current Rank: 149

Career-High Rank: 149 (March 2018)

Best US Open Finish: Qualifying Round 2 (2016); Girls’ Singles Champion (2017)

The Baseline

• Born in New Jersey to Russian parents, Anisimova moved with her family to Miami at age 3. Her older sister, Maria, played college tennis at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Anisimova reached No. 2 in the ITF junior rankings in June 2016 after reaching the final of the junior French Open. A year later, she went one better at the US Open, where she beat fellow American Cori Gauff to win the girls' title. It was the third consecutive all-American Grand Slam girls' singles final in 2017. 
• She made her senior Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2017 French Open after earning a wild card via the USTA Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge. At age 15, Anisimova was the youngest player to compete in the main draw since Alize Cornet in 2005. 
• Anisimova turned pro after winning the US Open girls’ title last September. Her decision was made easy by a strong summer on the USTA Pro Circuit, with her first title coming in July in Sacramento, Calif.

They Said It!

"I’m shaking right now. This is the biggest stage I've ever played on against the strongest person I've ever played in a tournament. It's just crazy." – Anisimova said in her on-court interview after defeating Kvitova in Indian Wells.