Amanda Anisimova to Donate Part of Eisenhower Cup Prize Money to Ukrainian Relief

Amanda Anisimova won the Eisenhower Cup—and pledged to share some of her prize money with Ukrainian relief efforts.

Anisimova beat Maria Sakkari 10-7 in the Eisenhower Cup final, a Tie Break Tens exhibition event at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden’s Stadium 2 on Tuesday night.

Afterward, the 2019 Roland Garros semifinalist said she’s saddened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will donate some of her $150,000 champion’s check to Ukrainian relief.

“We are here and enjoying but it’s very hard to just live normally,” Anisimova said. “I’ll definitely be donating some of my prize money to the Ukrainian relief fund.”

The final was the closest match of the evening.

The 20-year-old Anisimova donated the first point with a double fault but bounced back by winning five straight points to hand Sakkari her first deficit of the evening. The American then held on to close out the match 10-7 with a service winner. Anisimova was a late addition to the field Tuesday following the withdrawal of Barbora Krejcikova due to an elbow injury.

“I really enjoyed this event. It was very fun,” Anisimova said. “Personally, I don’t like playing very long, so this was perfect for me. I would definitely do this again.”

In the semifinals, Sakkari raced ahead by winning six of the first seven points against Aryna Sabalenka before prevailing 10-5. In the second semi-final, Anisimova stayed just ahead of Paula Badosa throughout to secure a 10-6 victory.

In the opening quarterfinal, Sabalenka fought off a comeback effort from 2017 Madrid Tie Break Tens champion Simona Halep for a 10-7 win. Sakkari won the final five points of her first match to defeat Ons Jabeur 10-6. Badosa roared to a 10-3 win over Leylah Fernandez, the only left-handed player in the field. Anisimova dropped the first two points of her quarter-final before racing to a 10-3 win over Naomi Osaka.

2022 Eisenhower Cup Results

Quartefinals

Aryna Sabalenka d. Simona Halep 10-7
Maria Sakkari d. Ons Jabeur 10-6
Paula Badosa d. Leylah Fernandez 10-3
Amanda Anisimova d. Naomi Osaka 10-3

Semifinals

Maria Sakkari d. Aryna Sabalenka 10-5
Amanda Anisimova d. Paula Badosa 10-6

Final

Amanda Anisimova d. Maria Sakkari 10-7

The Eisenhower Cup, which aired live on Tennis Channel, will be featured in a one-hour highlights program at 20:00 British time Wednesday on BBC3 in the UK and Ireland.

Fans can participate in their own tie break competition with Tennis Arena, the official mobile game partner of Tie Break Tens. Available on the App Store and Google Play, it allows players to compete in tie-breaks virtually via their mobile phones and handheld devices.

With a winner-take-all purse of $150,000 going to Anisimova, there has now been approximately $2 million in prize money awarded over the 10 Tie Break Tens events.