Amanda Anisimova was excited heading to the third-round clash in Cincinnati with rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala. When the proceedings started, Eala got the better of Anisimova by winning the opening set 6-4. This fired the American, and she did not hide how she felt. During a changeover, the 10th seed was caught having a conversation with her coach where she was offering a blunt assessment of her performance in that first set. 

“Not much fighting spirit, so yeah,” she said. Her coach pressed her on it. “You have no fighting spirit?” Anisimova’s reply was equally direct. “Not in the first set, I guess. I lost.”

Eala had looked unstoppable early on and was poised to extend her five-match winning streak against top-10 opponents. The American did not let that happen, finding a new gear after the conversation with her coach. She came back into the match by taking the second set 6-4, and then recovered from two games down in the decider to win six straight games and seal the victory. Anisimova became much more stable after the early wobble, setting up a gracious on-court interview.

Speaking afterwards in her on-court interview, Anisimova was generous in her praise of the player who had pushed her to the brink.

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“I know Alex is such a great player and such a fighter. I knew it was gonna be a really tough match,” she said.

She also acknowledged the unusual experience of playing in front of a crowd stacked with support for her opponent, framing it as something that ultimately worked in her favor rather than against her. “There was quite a bit of support for me tonight, so I really appreciate that, because I know how loved Alex is. And for good reason. But I really appreciated it because I felt like I needed a pick-me-up in this match because it’s past my bedtime,” she said.

The defeat ends Eala’s Cincinnati run in the third round, shifting her focus toward the US Open. Meanwhile, this mid-match turnaround highlights the stabilizing impact of Anisimova’s recent decision to reunite with coach Hendrik Vleeshouwers.

Amanda Anisimova’s coaching reunion

The win comes amid a season that has not been at all like Anisimova’s breakout 2025, when she advanced to back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, while also winning WTA 1000 titles in Doha and Beijing under coach Hendrik Vleeshouwers. But that partnership ended in March after a string of disappointing performances, and Anisimova confessed after that she had been finding herself “spiral” at times after tough results, rather than resetting. 

The initial split occurred when her frustration boiled over during the Australian Open in January. While losing to compatriot Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, she turned to her box and snapped,

“Tell me something. Sitting there, doing nothing.”

Four months later, however, Anisimova and Vleeshouwers reunited ahead of the Canadian Open. Both stated that the time apart had ultimately helped their working relationship evolve.

“The fact that we’ve had some space and had some time apart actually really helped us. We talked about that this week. How we both agree that we’ve learned a lot,” Anisimova said. She added that she now deeply values having a coach who cares about her as a person rather than simply focusing on results. That renewed mindset has coincided with clear signs of her top-tier level returning to the court.

Her comeback win over Eala successfully sets up a highly anticipated round-of-16 meeting with sixth seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova. Anisimova holds a 2-1 career record against her, with their latest meeting taking place at last year’s China Open final, where the American edged the Czech in three sets. Anisimova will look to extend that winning record and secure a spot in the quarterfinals when the two face off on August 19, 2026.