When you blitz into the Final Eight in your debut at Roland-Garros, it makes sense for the tennis community to immediately take you for a star in the making. That’s exactly what happened with Amanda Anisimova. The American star announced her triumphant debut at the 2019 French Open by becoming the first player born in the 21st century to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament. While that campaign ultimately came to a halt in the semis, where Australia’s Ashleigh Barty finally managed to stop Anisimova in her tracks, it was clear that the latter was here to stay. But soon, disaster struck.

In the summer of 2022, Anisimova lost her father and coach, Konstantin. Goes without saying, the incident rocked Amanda’s world. To cope with the stress and turmoil, Amanda declared in May 2023 that she would go into an indefinite hiatus in order to find balance inside her head. Well, looking at how 2025 is panning out for the 23-year-old, it can be safely assumed that Anisimova has found the closure she needed. However, for those who have walked a similar road, the burden that you inevitably carry on is apparent, even as the 2025 Qatar Open champ continues to reach new heights.

In a YouTube upload by Tennis Channel on July 6, ex-pro player Jim Courier opened up on how the scar might still be lingering inside Anisimova’s mind despite playing some of the best tennis of her career at SW19. Talking about how life caught Amanda off-guard, Courier said, “She burst on the scene as a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, right? Young woman playing the sport, and then life intervenes. She had some real stuff…Her father passed away, took some time away to regroup, and now she’s on the verge of making another semi-final here against Pavlyuchenkova,” noting that Anisimova can very well defeat the Russian when they cross paths at the Wimbledon quarterfinal tomorrow.

“…you can just see it means more now than it did then. She was innocent when she first burst on. She’s had the real world come up and give her, you know, a real dose. So, it’s going to be deeper in meaning for her,” the former professional tennis star kept speaking his mind about why Anisimova’s run at the British Slam is so noteworthy. While Courier noted that pain and loss in personal life can be a great motivator, it also comes with a caveat.

The 4x Grand Slam-winning star went on about why Anisimova seemed so emotional after securing her spot in the quarterfinal by defeating Linda Noskova (6-2, 7-5, 6-4)in the Round of 16. “Sometimes it’s harder when it means more like this to overcome that scar tissue that you’re carrying. So, that’s why I think why she was crying after the win. That’s a massive moment for her,” Courier explained.

But we do understand why Courier feels that the young American has a lot on her mind even while making waves at Wimbledon. After all, Amanda mentioned it herself that she had to work extra hard to overcome the demons.

Amanda Anisimova wasn’t going to let life keep her down

Just days before stepping into the thick of things at Wimbledon, Anisimova talked about how her recent years have been more like a whirlwind of things, and how she came up with creative ideas to tackle those head-on. “I feel like tennis is such a rollercoaster. Maybe I could compare it to rap because I get pretty serious on the court – sometimes a bit aggressive,” she told Olympics.com about how hip-hop is the music genre that she finds similar to her playing style.

With the star reaching the quarterfinal stage at the tournament in 2022, justifiably, many fans were left heartbroken for being denied the chance to see how she could improve on her SW19 result in the next year. While her decision to stay away from the tennis court took the world by surprise in 2023, especially with the announcement arriving just one month before Wimbledon that year, Anisimova knew that was the right call for her to get her house in order. And she managed to find her calm in art.

“I picked that hobby up when I was struggling with my mental health. It was definitely something that I really enjoyed off the court, for a few hours to reset my mind,” Anisimova said on June 29 about how Vincent van Gogh was the one who inspired her to pursue her love for the arts. “It was special to me,” she admitted. However, in every step of the way, her team kept their hand on her shoulders, making sure that Amanda didn’t have to navigate through the troubled waters all by herself.

With art and her well-wishers by her side, do you think Anisimova can once again reach the semifinal of yet another Grand Slam? Share your predictions for her Tuesday’s match against Pavlyuchenkova in a comment!