Amanda Anisimova’s Story From Father’s Tragic Death to 2 Grand Slam Finals in 2025

If there’s one word to describe 24-year-old Amanda Anisimova, it has to be “resilience.” From personal tragedies to professional disappointments, Anisimova has been through it and then some. And yet, she hasn’t let those moments define her or the trajectory of her career. To paraphrase a certain 90s rock anthem, she gets down, but she gets up again.

She’s now known best for her back-to-back appearances at this year’s Wimbledon and US Open finals, but her major breakthrough happened all the way back in 2019, beginning at the Australian Open. There, she reached the fourth round for the first time, even beating the then World No. 11, Aryna Sabalenka, en route. She soon bettered that result at that year’s French Open, overcoming the likes of Aryna Sabalenka (again) and Simona Halep to reach the semifinals at just 17, where she lost to eventual winner Ashleigh Barty.

And with that result, Anisimova became the first player born in the 2000s to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and the youngest American woman to make a Grand Slam semifinal since Venus Williams placed runner-up at the US Open in 1997. Not just that. That day, she became the youngest American woman to reach the last four at Roland Garros since Jennifer Capriati in 1990. But soon after came a heartbreaking family tragedy.

Chapter 1: A pillar fell

After her French Open heroics as a 17-year-old, Anisimova’s star was on the rise. But as she was gearing up for the US Open, she was derailed by a personal tragedy. Her father and longtime coach, Konstantin Anisimov, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at just 52 years of age, just one week before Anisimova turned 18. Konstantin had been a pillar in his daughter’s career, with his support and decision to take up the coaching mantle despite never having played the sport himself.

Anisimova withdrew from the US Open and kept a low profile for the remainder of the season. Though she competed in two more tournaments after, she ended her season early after winning just one match. In an interview with the Post she said, “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me. It was very tough.”

Despite going through this dark spell mentally and emotionally, Anisimova was able to find it in her to return to the sport. After all, tennis was one of her biggest connections to her late father. She made her comeback in January 2020, first at the Melbourne Summer Set 2, followed by the Australian Open. “As soon as I got back to tennis, it is what made me happy. And I know that’s what my dad would want me to be doing. That’s what would make him proud,” Anisimova said to the Post.

Chapter 2: The breaking point

In May 2023, Anisimova announced via her Instagram, “Hey guys. I thought I’d make a post explaining what’s been going on and my plans. I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022. It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At this point, my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it. I will miss being out there, and I appreciate all the continuous support 🤍✌️.”

The grind of the tour had taken a mental toll on the American star, who found herself depressed. “I had done that my whole life – pushing through everything – because I never took any breaks,” she said in an interview. For the longest time, she tried to play through the discomfort before finally accepting that she couldn’t keep continuing in that vein. She then made the tough decision to step away from a sport where taking breaks is often seen as career suicide. But Anisimova was backing herself. “I felt like it was just unfair for me to keep pushing and pushing as if I’m not a human being.”

During that break, she went back to school at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. Images from NSU’s Fort Lauderdale campus showed her participating in the school’s new-student orientation. One photo captured her name tag labeled “Group 10,” signaling her attendance at the Aug. 16 session, while another showed her standing on campus with a school building in the background. “#firstdayvibes,” she wrote alongside the campus shot. She said, “Yeah, so I was doing online and then I was like, you know what, I am able to transfer to in person, and I went to Nova Southeastern, and I honestly really enjoyed it.”

During this time away from tennis, Anisimova also made time for artistic pursuits. She announced that she would be selling her original paintings to benefit charities, including Feeding America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and Preventing Child Abuse America. “I decided to launch this website dedicated to promoting and protecting mental health in all aspects of life,” she wrote on the website of her “Art for Hope” initiative.

Chapter 3: The comeback

In January 2024, Amanda Anisimova made her return at the Auckland Open. Then midway through the year, Anisimova found just the man who could help her level up her game. With a strong resume of working with players like Elise Mertens and Yanina Wickmayer, Rick Vleeshouwers came on board as Amanda Anisimova’s coach in mid-2024. His specialty? “The first thing I always do is watch the whole match back at the end of the day it was played on,” he said. What followed was two slam finals in 2025 alone.

The hints of Amanda Anisimova rising to the top of the tennis world had started to show up ever since her return. She made the first WTA 1000 final of her career at Toronto, finishing second to compatriot Jessica Pegula (defeating Sabalenka en route). Next was this year’s Wimbledon and the US Open where she really made her mark.

The American showed impeccable grit in Wimbledon, holding firm against the likes of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and, once again and perhaps most memorably, Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal to take one step closer to arguably the most prestigious title in women’s tennis. But the final? Nightmare. Anisimova, who had been playing some of the best tennis of her career leading up to the final, struggled to find her rhythm against Iga Świątek. In her first ever major final, Anisimova let the nerves get to her, suffering a shock double bagel at the hands of Swiatek in just 57 minutes.

It was only the second time in the Open Era that a Grand Slam final ended in a double bagel, the first being Steffi Graf’s 1988 French Open victory over Natasha Zvereva. A loss like that could have sent her spiraling, as many predicted, but as it turns out, Anisimova was made of stronger stuff. The loss was avenged.

Amanda Anisimova once again came face to face with Iga Świątek in the quarterfinal of the 2025 US Open. But in this rematch, Anisimova secured a straight set 6–4, 6–3 win to dismantle Swiatek. “I think that was something I was really lacking in the Wimbledon final. I wasn’t really showing much, or my attitude and my presence wasn’t really there. So I think that’s also something that I learned that I need to do better of,” the New Jersey native said.

Anisimova then battled past Naomi Osaka in a thrilling three-set semifinal, winning 6–7(4), 7–6(3), 6–3. Her run ultimately ended in the final against Aryna Sabalenka, where she lost 3–6, 6–7(3), the dreams of a first-ever Slam once again shattered. But today, Anisimova has grown into one of American tennis’s most exciting talents, becoming the second best ranked American woman after Coco Gauff. With her place at the year end finals all but secured, all eyes will now be on her at the Australian Open as one of the expected favorites.