Amanda Anisimova wins unseeded Doha final showdown against Jelena Ostapenko

When Amanda Anisimova and Jelena Ostapenko meet up, tennis balls don’t stand a chance. Neither woman wastes any time pulverizing them. Neither woman allows a rally to last any longer than absolutely necessary. Winners are the name of the game for both.

As expected, there were plenty of pulverized shots and rapid-fire points when the American and the Latvian met in the final in Doha on Saturday. Plenty of winners, too. Over a relatively quick 19 games, they combined for 53 of them (27 for Ostapenko, 26 for Anisimova). As often as not, the return of serve was the point-ending shot.

Read More: 2025 WTA Doha final preview: Amanda Anisimova vs. Jelena Ostapenko

So it was surprising, and notable, to see that Anisimova was taking just a little bit off her first serve in the early going. Rather than try to belt it for flat aces, she hit with depth and a hint of topspin, and found her targets in the corners. It seemed that the 23-year-old was (a) confident enough that her ground game would back up her serve, and (b) strategic enough to know that the fewer second serves she gave to Ostapenko’s ultra-lethal returns, the better.

That tactical compromise was a big difference-maker in the match. Anisimova didn’t hit any aces, but she did make 70 percent of her first serves and won 73 percent of those points. She committed just two double faults to 10 for Ostapenko, and was broken just twice. This also allowed Anisimova to win the battle of the booming returns. She won 20 of 29 points on Ostapenko’s second serve, sent balls past skidding her from both wings, and earned 12 break points.

“I think I’m really trying to develop my game as a whole, try to come into the net more, and use my serve to my advantage,” Anisimova said after her 6-4, 6-3 win.

“I think my whole game is actually coming together.”

A lot of tears, a lot of good moments, a lot of hard work. With tennis, you experience them all. Amanda Anisimova in Doha

Her “whole game” also includes some newfound creativity. We don’t normally think of Anisimova as someone who can find unusual angles with her racquet, à la Carlos Alcaraz. But on Saturday, she snapped off a few inside-out forehand winners on her return from the middle of the court, a shot that left Ostapenko raising her eyebrows. Later, she topped herself with an inside out backhand-pass winner that left Ostapenko frankly bewildered.

“I think that I’ve been able to really execute well from my backhand side,” Anisimova said “But also I’ve been working a lot on my forehand, which I think that I’ve also had a lot of winners on.”

Bludgeoned returns, laser-like backhands, the easiest of easy power: All of that has been true of Anisimova since she made the semifinals at Roland Garros as a 17-year-old in 2019. What was different this week was that she put it all together to win a significant title. This is the third of her career, and her first at a top-tier 1000, and she did it while dropping just one set in six matches.

In the past, Anisimova’s nerves and emotions would have gotten the better of her somewhere along the way. And they were evident at times in Doha as well. In her quarterfinal final over Marta Kostyuk, she served for the second and third sets, and was broken both times. Instead of letting herself be overwhelmed by the moment, she found a way to manage her nerves, to take a little off the ball, to aim at a safer target. After being broken, she broke back and won both sets.

“I think that having a couple years of the experience of playing on these big courts against big players has really helped me transform into the player I am today,” said Anisimova, who is still just 23, and still would seem to have her whole career in front of her.

If Anisimova can carry on like this, it would be one of the more heartening stories of the season, and proof that second acts are possible in tennis. She lost her father and coach, Konstantin, in 2019. She took an eight-month break due to burnout in 2023. A couple of years ago in Indian Wells, she walked off the court after splitting sets with Leylah Fernandez and never came back. Now she seems to be taking those hard lessons and learning from them. Since returning to the tour last year, she has made two 1000 finals, and will rise to a career-high No. 18 on Monday.

“A lot of tears, a lot of good moments, a lot of hard work,” a wiser-sounding Anisimova said on Saturday. “With tennis, you experience them all.”