The WTA's Sunshine Swing proved that slight shifts can bring results, and that opportunity still knocks

For much of the 2010s, Su-Wei Hsieh had carved out a place among the best in women’s doubles, reaching the top of the rankings in that discipline in 2014. In 2018, though, she began to show signs of a singles resurgence with fourth-round finishes at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

After a second-round showing at the US Open, the Chinese Taipei No. 1 kicked off her run through the “Asia Swing” at the Japan Women’s Open. Seeded second, she advanced to her first singles final in six years, where she would face the surprise of the tournament: the American teenager Amanda Anisimova, who battled through the qualifying round to reach her first career final, winning all four of her main-draw matches in straight sets.

Even though it had been six years since her last singles final, Hsieh clearly had the edge in experience. However, it was the 32-year-old who started off slowly as Anisimova took seven of the first nine points. The two players had faced each other before, with the 17-year-old thrashing Hsieh 6-0, 6-1 the year prior and it appeared a repeat of that was imminent. Hsieh, though, settled into this match and went on to claim the first set 6-2.

In the second set, Hsieh continued to keep Anisimova off balance by not giving the teen any pace to feed off of. She would go on to break her opponent’s serve twice early on to take a 4-1 lead. Up 40-15, 5-2, Hsieh hit a smash on match point, clinching the third singles victory of her career and a return to the top 30 for the first time in five years.

In her three career singles finals, this was the first Hsieh won in straight sets.

In the six years she last won a singles title, Hsieh claimed 11 doubles crowns—including two Grand Slam titles.

2013

The last time a player reached a tour final that was younger than Anisimova was in 2013, when 16-year-old Donna Vekic finished as the runner-up in Birmingham.

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