In October 2019, just shy of her 18th birthday, Amanda Anisimova, the American tennis sensation, inked a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike, a move that catapulted her into a different stratosphere of expectations. Coming off a stellar semifinals run at the French Open in June, Anisimova possessed an undeniable charisma and a camera-ready presence that made her a natural fit for high-profile photoshoots. Her aggressive, dynamic style of play further solidified her appeal, making her a must-watch on the court. While the exact figures of the sponsorship deal remained shrouded in secrecy, whispers in the industry hinted at a staggering nine-figure sum. Almost overnight, the young athlete found herself shouldering a monumental weight of anticipation. Tabloids and online publications were quick to draw comparisons between her and Maria Sharapova, Nike’s former star protégé, further amplifying the pressure.
The world of female tennis prodigies is a crucible of media attention and public scrutiny. Throughout the ’90s, tennis stars like Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, and Anna Kournikova exploded into popular culture with the force of a runaway train. The relentless cycles of scrutiny and obsession that followed often involved the simultaneous praise and ridicule of their appearances, personal lives, and choices. This pattern continued with their successors – Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu, and Genie Bouchard – and, inevitably, with Anisimova.
The groundbreaking Nike partnership came in the wake of her father’s untimely passing earlier that year, leading to her withdrawal from the U.S. Open. Following a disappointing first-round exit from the 2020 Australian Open, Anisimova expressed her frustration when a reporter questioned whether she felt "unsettled" after her father’s death. She navigated the disrupted season, finishing the year ranked No. 30 in the world – a commendable achievement but not quite the world-beating performance many had expected. Over the next two years, she showed flashes of brilliance, securing two WTA titles and stunning Naomi Osaka in the third round of the 2022 Australian Open. While she was still young, her strengths were still developing. However, according to the vocal critics in online comment sections, Nike’s "$100 Million Woman" was struggling to justify her paycheck. By May 2023, the intense pressure and burnout led Anisimova to make a significant decision: she took an unprecedented, extended break from the tour at the age of 21.
Upon her return to the sport at the beginning of 2024, Anisimova was acutely aware that her reasons for stepping away – citing mental health – were widely known and discussed. Addressing mental health as a reason for absence is a different matter from tending to a physical injury or taking maternity leave. It took Anisimova a few tournaments to regain her rhythm and confidence. However, she persevered, steadily improving her game, and by February 2025, she captured her first career WTA 1000 title. By the time Wimbledon arrived in July, she seemed unstoppable. In the opening round, she handed Yulia Putintseva a double bagel – 6-0, 6-0 – in under an hour. She then defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. As she approached the finals, the narrative surrounding her comeback – "Amazing Amanda!" – reached a fever pitch. She became the first American woman to reach the Wimbledon finals since Serena Williams in 2019, where she would face Iga Świątek, the reigning five-time Grand Slam champion.
Sometimes in tennis, a one-sided scoreline can mask the intense competition that underlies the match. But not in this case. Świątek’s game – relentless, flawless – completely overwhelmed Anisimova. In a cruel twist of fate, Anisimova lost 0-6, 0-6 in a mere 57 minutes. The only other woman to suffer a similar defeat in an Open Era major final was Natasha Zvereva, who was crushed by Steffi Graf at the 1988 French Open.
Before the trophy ceremony could begin, Anisimova, overcome with emotion, left the court in tears.
"I was in complete shock," she told me over Zoom. "I kept thinking, Oh my God. This can’t be happening." She couldn’t stop crying. "I know you’re not supposed to leave; it was unorthodox. Nobody ever goes to the bathroom before a ceremony, but I just needed a moment to myself. I think I even walked the wrong way at first."
When she returned, Catherine, Princess of Wales, dressed in Wimbledon white, presented Anisimova with her runner-up trophy, gently patting her shoulder while offering words of encouragement. (It was later reported that the Princess had advised Anisimova to "keep her head high" during their exchange.) Before the presenter could even ask her first question, Anisimova was in tears once more. The entire Centre Court rose to their feet in applause. She congratulated Świątek first, who looked visibly moved and mouthed "thank you" in return. Anisimova’s voice trembled as she thanked the crowd and tournament organizers. However, her composure completely broke down when she started talking about her mother, who had flown in that morning to watch her daughter play in her first Grand Slam final in person. Both mother and daughter wiped away tears as she continued. "My mom has put in more work than I have, honestly," she managed to say.
Anisimova’s speech quickly went viral, earning her praise for her vulnerability and strength. She remains surprised by the outpouring of public affection for what she considers a "sobfest." The following Monday, she entered the world’s top ten for the first time, ranking No. 7. "The one thing that crossed my mind that normally doesn’t when I lose was, I think you’ll be in a lot more of these," she said.
A defeat of this magnitude on her profession’s biggest stage could have crushed another player, or even a younger version of Anisimova. But the work she had done on herself during her time away from the sport – therapeutic and otherwise – had transformed her perspective on tennis. It’s not that Anisimova doesn’t wish Wimbledon had turned out differently. She does. It’s that she already knows what it feels like to lose so much more.
As a child, Anisimova’s talent was evident early on. She was born in Freehold, New Jersey, the second daughter of Russian immigrants. Her parents, Olga and Konstantin, left Moscow in the late ’90s to foster their firstborn’s passion for tennis. (Although she no longer competes, Anisimova’s sister, Maria, played Division 1 tennis at the University of Pennsylvania.) Anisimova wanted to emulate everything her older sister did. When Maria left for college, Amanda, at the age of five, was already competing in her first tournament. "I was so much shorter than everyone else, and I didn’t know how to keep score," she recalled. The family moved to Florida, a hub for promising young American tennis players, when Anisimova was just three years old. At barely 14, Anisimova received a wild-card entry into the U.S. Open qualifying rounds. Although she didn’t make it into the main draw that year, she won the junior version of the tournament the following year. Even as Anisimova began accumulating girls’ singles titles (including a U.S. Open victory over Coco Gauff), she didn’t view tennis as an all-or-nothing pursuit. If tennis didn’t pan out, she had aspirations of attending medical school.
The mental anguish that eventually led Anisimova to take a break from the sport didn’t surface during her junior years. She primarily dealt with the physical challenges of aches and strains that often plague young athletes during repetitive training, although she never suffered any serious injuries. At 16, she broke her foot mid-match during the 2018 Miami Open. Despite the injury, she finished the point and won the match.
The inherent solitude of tennis can be particularly difficult on young minds. ("I was born a sensitive person in general, so that makes everything harder.") However, there were other, significant stressors occurring behind the scenes. Anisimova is not yet ready to discuss the specifics of what she experienced, or when, but she acknowledges that she "did not have an easy childhood at all": "I feel like if I really explained my story, a lot of people would be absolutely shocked at the events in my life," she said.
Trauma has a way of gradually eroding one’s ability to ignore it. Anisimova began to feel "a certain way" in 2020, just before the pandemic. Whether it was depression, anxiety, or a combination of both, "It came out of nowhere." Shortly after, the world shut down, and Anisimova realized she needed to seek professional help. She consulted with several different therapists over the next few years before finding her current therapist, who specializes in trauma. "I never tried any trauma stuff," she said. "I would always just do regular talk therapy, and it was nice to talk to someone – or just rant – but I never felt like I was getting anywhere. And that made me feel more hopeless, even though I was seeing great therapists. It was just never really what I exactly needed." Anisimova is clearly thankful that she found someone who resonated with her; just minutes after our initial conversation, she followed up via text to praise her therapist, telling me, "I just never get to credit her, and she’s one of the most amazing humans ever."
Last year, Anisimova tried EMDR (eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing) for the first time, although her primary focus is dialectical behavioral therapy. EMDR uses bilateral eye movements to reduce the intensity of memories or events that the patient processes, whether in their entirety or in fragments. DBT is a skills-based approach that aims to gently cultivate emotional regulation over time by teaching new habits and practices – things that may seem tedious in the moment (like the seemingly simple act of learning how to breathe correctly) but can be transformative in the long run. Anisimova didn’t experience immediate relief after her sessions – nothing she has worked on has resolved overnight – but, as she tells it, she realized one day that she was feeling a little better. Then a lot better. And she continues to feel that way today.
Anisimova’s sabbatical allowed her to completely disconnect from the world of tennis. For the first time in almost two decades, her schedule was entirely her own. "I really enjoyed just being away from everything," she said. "I watched the U.S. Open because I love the U.S. Open, but apart from that, I forgot about it and was just absorbed in my own life." She painted. She enrolled in a semester at Nova Southeastern University and attended classes. ("I was older than everyone, and I wasn’t even old.") She settled into a routine that wasn’t a constant cycle of hotel rooms and court times. Occasionally, the thought would cross her mind: What if I just quit and never went back? But it wasn’t a question she wanted to answer. "It didn’t really sit right with me because I had sacrificed my whole childhood," she said. "There were so many things that I went through, and that my mom went through, to get me to where I was – and to just walk away from the sport where I had all these dreams and goals and aspirations that I still wanted to achieve, it didn’t feel right."
I watched Anisimova practice on the first Monday of the U.S. Open Fan Week. She had a morning session scheduled on Grandstand, one of the larger stadiums in the southwest corner of the arena. The weather was unseasonably cold for August, and the wind was distracting. The sounds of leaf blowers and overhead planes mixed with the chatter of families wandering in and out of the bleachers to watch the players. Ed Sheeran played in the background. Anisimova seemed unfazed. Her coach put her through a series of backhands, forehands, and return-of-serve drills on both sides. He walked around her, squatted beside her, and offered corrections. She looked fit, strong, and occasionally amused with her form. On Tuesday, as the No. 8 seed, she will face Australia’s Kimberly Birrell in the opening round of the tournament.
Anisimova’s therapist, who has played a crucial role in her comeback, has yet to attend one of her matches. That could change in September. "I did tell her recently, ‘If I get to the finals of the U.S. Open, you’re coming,’" she said. "I’ve said that before – whenever I’m in the final of a Grand Slam, you’re going to be there." When Wimbledon came around, Anisimova’s therapist brought it up. "I was like, ‘Oh shit, I am in the final. But wait! I’m not ready for you to watch me.’" She laughs. "And then after that match, it was like, ‘Thank God you didn’t.’"
Even if Amanda Anisimova doesn’t lift the trophy at the 2025 U.S. Open, her journey back to the top of the sport, marked by resilience, vulnerability, and a commitment to her mental well-being, is already a victory. She has redefined success on her own terms, proving that true strength lies not just in winning matches, but in overcoming personal challenges and embracing authenticity.