Madison Keys makes big claim about Amanda Anisimova’s backhand ahead of their Wimbledon match

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Madison Keys has heaped praise on her rival Amanda Anisimova ahead of their third round meeting at Wimbledon.

Keys has reached that stage of the grass-court Grand Slam after knocking out qualifier Kayla Day and wildcard Katie Swan.

And her compatriot Anisimova is into the third round of Wimbledon after wins over qualifier Lina Gjorcheska and Sofia Kenin.

The two Americans will now go head-to-head for a spot in the fourth round of the event, where they will play either Sorana Cirstea or Linda Noskova.

Shortly after beating Swan, 26th seed Keys was tasked with previewing her next clash, at a time when Anisimova and Kenin were battling out a third set.

Madison Keys says Amanda Anisimova has one of the best backhands ever

Anisimova won the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(10-3), during which Keys said: “Yeah, Sonya (Sofia) has the ability to play very, very good tennis.

“I played her last year in Roland Garros, and I’m pretty sure she had a match point.

“I mean, she’s such a talented tennis player and her ability to kind of play with different spin and speeds, just kind of wrong-foot people I think is really unique and why she’s had as much success as she does.

“Obviously Amanda, having made the finals here last year, she’s one of the best ball strikers in the game probably ever.

“Has one of the greatest backhands I think I’ve ever seen.

“It’s just one of those things where I think both of their games are very well-suited to grass but just kind of in the opposite ways.”

Anisimova did indeed reach the final of Wimbledon last year, but was heavily beaten 6-0, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek.

She also lost the US Open final to Aryna Sabalenka in 2025, while earlier that year Keys beat the Belarusian in the final of the Australian Open.

Madison Keys vs Amanda Anisimova head-to-head before Wimbledon tie

While Keys has been left really impressed by Anisimova and her backhand in particular, the pair have only met once on the court.

That arrived in the group stages of the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh, where Anisimova defeated Keys 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The latter now has a chance to exact revenge on the former at Wimbledon, where they will meet on grass for the first time.

Notably, world number six Anisimova is currently the second-highest-ranked American on the WTA Tour, two spots behind Jessica Pegula.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff is in seventh, followed by Iva Jovic in 16th and Keys in 22nd, with all five players still in the competition at this stage.