Serena Williams won the 2010s, who will dominate the next WTA decade?
By Chris Myson
Amanda Anisimova
Age during the next decade: 18-28
WTA ranking now: 24
Career titles: 1
Another American teenager who has not had the same hype as Coco Gauff but may have just as much chance of success in the years ahead is Amanda Anisimova.
Reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open got 2019 off to an ideal start for the teenager.
Anisimova then went on to shock the field at the French Open shortly after winning her first WTA Tour title at the Copa Colsanitas.
She stormed through to the semifinals in Paris, losing in three sets to eventual winner Ash Barty, having knocked out defending champion Simona Halep and Aryna Sabalenka, who she also conquered in Melbourne, along the way.
Misfortune meant Anisimova, who was US Open girls champion in 2017 after beating Gauff in the final, could not capitalise on the momentum she had generated at Roland Garros.
After a second-round exit at Wimbledon, she then had to withdraw from the US Open after the shock death of her father, who was also her coach.
A back injury also hindered her in the second half of the season and she played only three matches after August 3 until the end of the year, also recently withdrawing from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.
Despite all that, she ended the year at 24 in the world, highlighting how strong her results were in the first half of the campaign.
Anisimova is widely regarded as a spectacular talent and if she can get a full year under her belt, 2020 could lay the foundation for a decade at the top of women’s tennis.