INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Amanda Anisimova’s power and precision have been remarkable for a player of any age in her first appearance at the prestigious BNP Paribas Open.
Veteran coaches like José Higueras are already calling her two-handed backhand one of the best in the professional game, even if she is just getting started in the pros. At 5 feet 11 inches, Anisimova also has a big serve that should only get bigger.
But what has also turned heads here is the poise she has displayed, at age 16, in straight-set upsets of two big-hitting members of the tennis establishment: 23rd-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round and ninth-seeded Petra Kvitova in the third round, the latter being Anisimova’s first appearance on a main show court at any top-tier professional event.