Amanda Anisimova became the talk of the town this year after her title triumph in Doha. Her success story is very interesting. Anisimova started playing at the age of 5. Her elder sister, Maria, used to play college tennis for the University of Pennsylvania while attending UPenn’s Wharton. Talking about her tennis journey, Anisimova gave full credit to her sister for inspiring her to take up the sport. “When I was little, she was playing tennis. I always saw her playing, and I wanted to do it too. That’s how I got into it, and my parents got into it too.” A few years later, she started playing under the former American tennis player Nick Saviano, while Max Fomine served as her traveling coach. Her career got off to a flying start when, a week after her 16th birthday, she became the 2017 US Open junior champion (defeating Coco Gauff in straight sets). Everything looked fine until May 2023, when she announced she would be taking an indefinite break from professional tennis. But why did she take that break when her career was on the verge of hitting massive highs?

Well, it was more to prioritize her mental health and address burnout. In fact, this break followed a period of struggle with her mental health since the summer of 2022, including the death of her father and coach Konstantin in 2022. While announcing this break, she shared a post on her IG account with the caption, “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 🤍✌️“

In September 2023, she began training again, hoping for a return at the 2024 AO. Then, just two weeks after picking up a win in Auckland in her first match since her comeback, Amanda Anisimova was handed a tough draw at the AO. She reached the fourth round there, but in that round, she was outclassed by the current world number one Aryna Sabalenka by 3-6,2-6. Following her comeback, she claimed that the “most important thing is that I feel a lot more refreshed.” She made a comeback to the Top 50 later that season.

What about her current goals in her tennis career? In August 2024, she gave an interview and during that interview, she said, “I hope I have many years of career ahead. I have many goals to achieve. A small one for this year was to reach the Top 100, something I have already accomplished. I want to be able to win a Grand Slam and become the world number one. I hope all the work helps me get there.” 

Later on, the 23-year-old stated that it would be “very hard to finish my career without achieving those goals.” Hence, all she wants is to give her best in the upcoming season and hope to fulfill her wishes. Talking about reaching newer heights, well, Amanda Anisimova did add another feather to her cap this season. What was her reaction after winning the 2025 Qatar Open?

Amanda Anisimova’s reaction after clinching her first career WTA 1000 earlier this year

She was ranked 213 just a year ago, but owing to her impressive performance this season, Amanda Anismova has now secured her place inside the Top 20. She’s currently ranked 16th in the world. She defeated the 2017 French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko, in the finals of the Qatar Open by 6-4,6-3, earlier this season. Following that incredible win, Anisimova said, “It feels amazing. It’s been such an incredible week here. I think every match has been very tough. I’m just super happy with my performances and my level here, and to be able to get my first 1000 title is really special to me.“

Having said that, she also highlighted, “There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears.” If we take a look at her career, other than winning the US Open junior title, she was ranked as high as number 2 in the world as a junior. At the senior level, the biggest breakthrough came in 2019 when she reached the SF of the French Open.

Interesting Fact: In the 2017 French Open, she also defeated the defending champion, Simona Halep.

Following that, in 2022, she reached the QF in Wimbledon. So, she was just on the rising stage when she took this decision to take a break from the sport. When she was on her break a few years ago, did she ever wonder whether she’d compete for important titles again? Replying to this question during an interview with WTA tennis earlier this season, Amanda Anisimova said, “I definitely had that in the back of my mind, taking that break. I knew I was going to come back eventually. I just didn’t know when that was going to be. I had a plan in mind when I was going to start practicing and return and I did it according to the timeline I predicted, which wasn’t actually too long. I just needed to take a break and focus on myself for a bit. Once I came back, I was enjoying it a lot more.“

She has a win-loss record of 16-9 this season, and Anisimova recently secured her spot in the third round of the 2025 French Open after defeating Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic by 6-0,6-2 in the previous round. How far do you think she can reach this time at Roland Garros?