This time last year, Amanda Anisimova was having the time of her life on the tennis court. The American had reached consecutive Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open and won the WTA 1000 title in Beijing. Fast forward twelve months, and the former World No.3 has to cut her season short due to injury, which Anisimova announced in an emotional message.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Hi everyone, I will be wrapping up my season for the year 🫶🏼🥹 I sustained a wrist injury again, that I need to take care of,” said Anisimova on her Instagram post. “Time to get healthy, reset, and see you all in 2027 🙏🏼☝🏼🐼.”
The left wrist injury has been an issue of concern for Anisimova throughout the season. The American had a layoff of more than two months after the Sunshine Double, as she tried to recover from the injury that kept her out of most of the clay-court season, including the WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. Anisimova played at the French Open but could not get past the third round, losing to home favorite Diane Parry.
Following the French Open, Anisimova played through the grass-court season and the North American hard-court swing. Barring a quarterfinal run in Cincinnati, her results were not that promising, including third-round exits at Wimbledon and at the US Open.
Anisimova was ready for the Asian swing as well, as she flew out to Singapore and was on site for the WTA 500 event. However, the wrist had the final say, forcing Anisimova to withdraw from the event, a move followed by her withdrawal from the China Open, where she was the defending champion.
The withdrawals from the Asian events were the final domino to fall, as Anisimova decided to cut her 2026 season short after that. Even though the injury is in her non-dominant hand, it seriously impacts the American’s game style. Anisimova’s famous two-handed backhand is one of the most powerful shots on the WTA, where the American needs her left wrist to generate the drive-by power to hit the shot.
Wrist injuries are common in tennis, with many current WTA players having surgery to address the issue. Karolina Muchova underwent wrist surgery in 2024, and the Czech player was severely hampered by the injury following her semifinal run at the 2023 US Open. Emma Raducanu suffered from a similar problem as well, with the British player having surgery in 2023.
For Anisimova, the 2026 season started on a high as the American reached a career-best ranking at the beginning of the season. However, injuries, coaching splits and reunions, and shutting down online critics soon became the talking points for the American player.
A Lookback on Amanda Anisimova’s 2026 Season
The year started well for Anisimova, who achieved a career-best ranking of 3 after a breakthrough 2025 season that saw her reach two Slam finals and win two WTA 1000 titles. On the court, she started well as well with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, where she lost to Jessica Pegula.
She was not able to defend her title in Doha, as she was forced to retire in her opening-round match. After having underwhelming returns in Indian Wells and Miami, she split up with her coach Hendrik Vleesehouwers, which was quite a surprising move on the American’s part, as Vleesehouwers had been instrumental in getting Anisimova back to the top of the sport from 2024.
After having a brief partnership with Sebastian Sachs for the clay court and the grass court events, Anisimova brought back Vleesehouwers ahead of the hard-court season. She did have a good run in Cincinnati, but her last match against Anastasia Potapova in New York did not paint a good picture, with Anisimova making 46 unforced errors in two sets.
If her on-court struggles were not enough, Anisimova had to face online speculation as well. A few of her recent gym photos created quite the buzz on social media, sparking rampant speculation that Anisimova was taking weight-loss medication. Anisimova herself took action, sending a strong message to shut down the online trolls.
Given her withdrawals in Asia, Anisimova is all set to fall out of the Top 15 on the WTA Rankings, which will take a further hit when her points from the WTA Finals last year are taken away. However, one can hope that the rest will help her heal, reset, and return to full flow in 2027.