Last season, the American won her first two WTA 1000 titles in Doha and Beijing, breaking into the top 10 for the first time in her career.
In addition, Anisimova came close to winning a Grand Slam twice this year: she was defeated by Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon final and lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open title match.
Annacone, who worked with Federer between 2010 and 2013, was asked by tennis.com to choose the more likely 2026 Major winner between the 24-year-old American and Elena Rybakina.
“I loved what we saw from Amanda. I think she’s knocking on the door, and she’s my vote for a big win next year,” Annacone responded.
CoCo Vandeweghe also supports Anisimova to win a Slam next year
Rybakina didn’t do particularly well in the Majors this year. But late in the season the Kazakh rediscovered her best game and that resulted in Ningbo, number 5 in the world, and the WTA Finals.
Vandeweghe, a 2017 Australian Open semifinalist, picked Anisimova to win a Major but also underlined that Rybakina was someone to look out for.
“I would like to say both, but if I had to choose one, I would go for a first Slam for Amanda, which would be a great story. Amanda finished at number 359 in the WTA rankings at the end of 2023. Two years later, she finishes at number four with back-to-back Grand Slam finals. But both women certainly have what it takes to do it next year,” Vandeweghe said.
The Australian Open has never been a happy hunting ground for Anisimova as the American has yet to progress past the round of 16 at Melbourne Park.
On the other hand, Rybakina finished runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 Australian Open final.
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