When Amanda Anisimova reached her first Grand Slam final last year at Wimbledon, there were massive hopes for the American star. But it was the monumental final that turned into a nightmare for her. In a recent interview, Rick Vleeshouwers, her former coach, opened up about conversations he had with his player, which foretold the result and revealed his regret over a decision.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Diary of a Professional Tennis Coach channel on YouTube, Vleeshouwers shared that Anisimova was suffering from a bout of tiredness from her semifinal match. The American had a riveting three-setter against Aryna Sabalenka in the semis, winning one of the matches of the tournament. As a result, Vleeshouwers decided to give Anisimova an off day before the final, so she could regroup and spend time with her family, which could help clear her nerves. In hindsight, the Dutch coach regrets his decision as Iga Swiatek crushed her 6-0, 6-0 in the finals.

“Yeah, well, obviously the semifinal was insane, but very demanding, like not only physically, but also in the head…And we decided not to practice the day in between, which, if I look back, and I could change one thing, that was definitely the thing,” said Vleeshouwers.

These choices set the stage for the final day, when Anisimova’s fatigue became undeniable. That conversation worried the Dutch coach, who realized that the final would be a tough ask for Anisimova, but he would have felt the scoreline would have been beyond his wildest imagination.

“And then on the day of the final, we were warming up. And I recall after maybe three rallies, she came to me and she said, I cannot stand, I can barely stand on my feet, I’m so tired. So at that time, I already knew like, okay, this is going to be a challenging one”, said Vleeshouwers.

The Dutchman spoke about the importance of being connected and familiarizing oneself with the court before a big match, and wished they had actually had one practice session the day before. But on that occasion, he gave family time and recovery a high priority, as his player was tired after her last match.

“Not to practice like one hour, but at least go maybe to the indoor course at the All England Club and just do some serving returns just to stay connected with the environment. But she needed time off, and she spent the whole day, I think, with family and relaxing,” he added.

After the match, he gave his honest assessment to Anisimova, urging her to stay strong, as she was not at her physical best and could not put up a fight.

In her runner-up acceptance speech, Anisimova said, “I know I didn’t have enough today, but I’m going to keep putting in the work. I always believe in myself, so I hope to be back here again one day.”

In what turned out to be one of the most remarkable turnarounds, Anisimova reached the US Open final, including a quarterfinal win against Swiatek. She fell short against Aryna Sabalenka in the final, but the victory against Swiatek, so soon after their Wimbledon match, showed her mettle as a player.

Amanda Anisimova Has Been Out Of Action Since March

After making consecutive Grand Slam finals and winning two WTA 1000 titles last year, expectations from Anisimova were sky high this season. However, the American player has been riddled with injuries this season. She started the season with a career-high ranking of 3 and reached the quarterfinal at the Australian Open, where she lost to Jessica Pegula.

Anisimova also reached the semifinal of the Dubai Tennis Championships, where once again, her run was halted by Pegula. She had middling results at the Sunshine Double, suffering fourth-round exits at both Indian Wells and Miami. Following these results, she made a shocking decision to split with Vleeshouwers after having a career-best season in 2025.

At the same time, the American has been recovering from a wrist injury, which has led her to withdraw from events such as Madrid and Rome. With the French Open just two weeks away, the odds seemed to be stacked against her as she has not yet played a competitive clay-court match this season. However, she has happy memories of Paris to rely on, as this was the tournament where she made her breakthrough, reaching the semifinals in 2019.