Tennis
2025-11-03 - Amanda Anisimova vs Madison Keys
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis: WTA Finals Group Stage
Monday 3rd November 2025 - Scheduled 7pm
4pm (British Time)
Preview
Missing time on the Tour after the US Open was going to make things difficult, but Madison Keys would have expected a lot more from herself in the opening Group match at the WTA Finals. The crushing loss to Iga Swiatek is a disappointment, but the good news is that the WTA Finals are played in a different format and all is not lost just yet.
The pressure is on Madison Keys to bounce back and another defeat is likely to spell elimination.
However, that is a situation that will be cleared up before this second match takes place- a win for Iga Swiatek over Elena Rybakina will mean Madison Keys cannot be definitively eliminated on Monday, although another straight sets loss is going to be hard to overcome.
The same fate awaits Amanda Anisimova after she struggled to stick with Rybakina in her opening Group match.
The difference for the younger of the two American players is that she needs a win from Elena Rybakina earlier in the day if Anisimova is to avoid definite elimination with a second defeat at her maiden WTA Finals event.
It would be a surprise if either player is thinking about another loss and still having ambitions to reach the Semi Final here in Riyadh so the focus has to be on recovering from opening losses. Both Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys proved to be second best by a significant margin in those losses and so there is a lot of room for improvement, although the edge may have to be given to the former having had a decent Asian swing prior to this event beginning.
You also have to note that Madison Keys has lost all three matches played against top ten Ranked opponents on the hard courts since she won the Australian Open title at the very start of the year. Those defeats have all been pretty one-sided and now Madison Keys will have to take on Amanda Anisimova who has a 5-2 record against the top ten Ranked players she has faced on the hard courts in 2025.
The numbers show that Amanda Anisimova has been able to look after her second serve more effectively than Madison Keys, while she has also been a stronger return player.
Amanda Anisimova will have had a lot of respect for Madison Keys when growing onto the Tour and she will have noted the kind words that Keys had for after taking the time away to get on top of her mental health a couple of years ago. These two will have a lot of time for one another away from the court, and that should see the match played in good spirit.
The edge has to be with the favourite, who should have the stronger rhythm on the court and the match could get away from Madison Keys if she does drop the first set. It may be a situation where getting through to the WTA Semi Finals becomes a secondary ambition compared with preparing to recover and get ready to defend the Australian Open crown won this year and Amanda Anisimova can stay alive in the Group with a quality win.
Prediction
Lay the games with the younger of the two American players trying to reignite the WTA Finals bid.
The Pick :
Amanda Anisimova 2-0 Madison Keys
