Elena Rybakina stunned Amanda Anisimova with a dominant straight sets victory at the WTA Finals and Tim Henman has offered some advice to the American.
Rybakina squeezed into the WTA Finals as one of the last remaining seeds, but she outclassed Anisimova in Saudi Arabia.
The World No. 6 dropped just four games against the Wimbledon and US Open finalist as she put herself in a strong position to qualify from her group.
Following Anisimova’s crushing defeat, Henman has offered her some advice in what to do to bounce back in the tournament.
Tim Henman tells Amanda Anisimova how to regroup at the WTA Finals
Henman is out in Saudi Arabia for the WTA Finals and he’s suggested what Anisimova should do following her loss to Rybakina.
The former British No. 1 was full of praise for Rybakina, before turning his attention toward the World No. 4.
“She [Rybakina] was so accurate with her first serve,” said the Henman on Sky Sports. “And then she was able to dictate with that first shot in the rally, that one-two punch, and she just never let [Amanda] Anisimova settle at all.”
“Anisimova making her debut at this event and never let her settle down, and thought it was a very clinical, professional performance,” he explained.
“It’s an important 36 hours for Anisimova, where she can regroup with her team, because she’s not out of it yet. But a really confident performance from Rybakina.”
Anisimova will play her compatriot Madison Keys in her next group match as she looks to get herself off the board in Riyadh.
Amanda Anisimova can still flourish at the WTA Finals
The beauty of the WTA Finals format means players can suffer a loss and still qualify from the group stages.
Coco Gauff won the WTA Finals in 2024 with a loss, while 2022 winner Caroline Garcia also lost one of her group stage matches.
The only player in recent years to win the WTA Finals without suffering a loss is Iga Swiatek, who played the perfect tournament in 2023.
There is every chance Anisimova can bounce back from her loss to Rybakina to still succeed at the tournament, just as Henman has suggested.
