The rigours of the professional tennis tour are such that few players have time in their life for anything else. But after taking a break from the sport in 2023, Amanda Anisimova discovered another practice she was equally passionate about: painting.
‘I got into art when I was struggling with my mental health, and it was something that I did in my free time just to get my mind off of things,’ Anisimova said last Friday after her third-round victory over Dalma Galfi. ‘Once I was done with my training day or had a day off, it’s something I would do.
‘I think before that I didn’t have any hobbies or interests other than just, like, hanging out with my friends and family, so I wanted to find something that I enjoyed doing on my own.
‘I feel like it’s just a very good get-away for myself.’
While unable to paint while travelling in a bid to manage the extra weight she has to lug from tournament to tournament, Anisimova instead takes in museums to indulge her interest; the Musee d’Orsay in Paris is a favourite.
It’s rare that so much time in a press conference might be dedicated to off-court pursuits, but as she prepares to play her first Grand Slam final on Wimbledon‘s Centre Court on Saturday afternoon, Anisimova has proven that her unique story among her peers on the women’s tour is paying dividends.
Amanda Anisimova has had an unconventional career but now plays her first Grand Slam final
The Russian-American has blazed a trail through the competition in SW19 this fortnight
But Anisimova’s career has in part flourished due to having interests outside the sport, like painting and art
A supremely talented junior who first started playing after attending her sister Maria Anisimova-Egee’s tennis lessons as a child, Anisimova’s second Grand Slam semi-final came 18 majors after her first.
The New Jersey-born Russian-American was just 17 when she made the last four at the French Open in 2019, but she had already spent three years as a professional, toiling mostly on the third-tier ITF circuit. Miraculously, she made it through the draw without dropping a set before her run-in with Roland-Garros’ eventual champion Ash Barty. Considering her route included the defending champion Simona Halep, and then-No 11 seed Aryna Sabalenka, Anisimova appeared to have arrived on tennis’ biggest stage in a major way.
But just as her star was rising, unimaginable tragedy struck months later. Anisimova’s father Konstantin died of a heart attack at 52 years old. Taking up her first seeding at her home slam, the US Open, a week later was postponed, and the teenager played only two more tournaments that season.
‘This is obviously the hardest thing I’ve had to go through and the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I don’t really talk about it with anyone,’ Anisimova told the New York Times less than a year later. ‘The only thing that has helped me is just playing tennis and being on the court.
‘That’s what makes me happy, and I know it would make him happy, so that’s the way it is.’
Konstantin, and Anisimova’s mother Olga, were both powerful forces for the player in her early career, with Konstantin part of her coaching set-up until only a little while before his passing.
Although Anisimova pulled out of tournaments to try and prioritise the grieving process, the interview revealed that she had opted to throw herself into tennis as a way of dealing with the tragedy, and in a bid to feel closer to him.
‘It never goes away,’ Anisimova added in reference to her grief. ‘But you can’t change it, and you have to go back to life.’
A talented junior star, Anisimova was a French Open runner up as a 14-year-old in 2016
Just three years later, Anisimova knocked out the defending champion in Paris to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final
But the loss of her father Konstantin (pictured in 2017) plunged the teenager into mourning
Saying things and doing them are different, however, and Anisimova’s attempts to throw herself into her career were stymied by two major forces out of her control.
The Covid-19 pandemic put paid to plans to utilise her world No 21 ranking to make deep runs at the Slams, and persistent injury concerns would set her back further. While impressive results dotted her 2021 and 2022 seasons, including the dispatching of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open in the latter year, Anisimova would move up and down rankings within the top 50, but seemed well off her early potential.
In 2023, the dam burst, and Anisimova made a seismic decision few players have the confidence – or the foresight – to make. On the heels of a first-round defeat at the Madrid Open, the 21-year-old announced that she would be taking a break from tennis. With no plans to return.
‘I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,’ Anisimova shared in an Instagram statement. ‘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.’
Tennis is an almost year-round sport, and with the addition of sponsorship dates and exhibition matches, many players will have sympathised with Anisimova’s decision. But the choice was a bold one, and her future unclear.
Instead, Anisimova turned inwards. Taking up painting, she found herself particularly inspired by Vincent van Gogh, creating colourful abstracts and selling them for charity. She also read, listened to music, and reconnected with the friends and family the tennis tour left scant room for. One thing she didn’t do was pick up a racquet.
‘I learned a lot about myself, my interests off the court, and just taking some time to breathe and live a normal life for a bit,’ Anisimova told BBC Sport this week. ‘What I’ve learned is to listen honestly to yourself, to your intuition, and what your body is telling you.’
Choosing to take time off in 2023 came on the heels of extreme burnt out due to the rigours of the tour
Anisimova focused on having a normal life for the first time as a young adult, seeing friends, painting and reading
Her return in 2024, when her motivation and desire to step onto a tennis court had come back, started with a bang, as she defeated bold-faced names like Wimbledon quarter-final opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Liudmila Samsonova, and Paula Badosa to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open.
But while able to use her protected ranking at some tournaments, just one year out from reaching the final in SW19, Anisimova was defeated in qualifying and failed to make the main draw.
Recurring injuries to her hip and back continued to make her first year back on tour a challenge, and although a run to the final at the Canadian Open helped her rocket back into the top 50, returning to the circuit was more about getting used to the demands of the tour than winning trophies.
By early 2025 however, that drought had been broken too. Anisimova claimed her first WTA 1000 title in Qatar, and made the final at Queen’s, the first of her career on grass.
Getting to grips with the mental side of the sport has accounted for part of her rise, but dealing with physical concerns has helped too. Anisimova brought physiotherapist Shadi Soleymani into her team in March to reshape her body and help her to move past the constant injury concerns that have plagued her for most of her professional career.
Soleymani has restructured her vegan diet, introducing protein and helping her cut a heavy caffeine habit, and used her background in biomechanics to retrain the way Ansimova, who stands at nearly 6ft, moves on court. Soleymani is also an important female member of Anisimova’s set-up, with the physio sharing in an interview with the Athletic this week that she’s ‘like a mom’ to the player when called upon.
Anisimova’s circle is important to her. Her closest friend on the tour is fellow player Priscilla Hon, but the 23-year-old is close to other stars, such as Emma Raducanu, as well.
Anisimova even went as far as shouting out Hon’s attendance at her second Grand Slam semi-final on Thursday in her on-court interview, saying that alongside her ‘beautiful family’, her ‘best friend’ was there.
The 23-year-old won her first Masters title in Qatar in February after beating Jelena Ostapenko
Having close friends on the tour has been a major boost for Anisimova, who named fellow player Priscilla Hon her ‘best friend’
Anisimova is also close with Emma Raducanu, but faced off with her this year at the Australian Open and in Miami
‘But I don’t see her,’ Anisimova teased. ‘You better be there!’
Hon was there, as well as a player box stuffed with her biggest supporters: her agent Ben Draper – brother of British No 1 Jack – her sister and her husband, his family, and her nephew Jaxon, who accompanied her for her post-match interview after she bypassed Pavlyuchenkova a round earlier.
Anisimova is thought to be single, having been last linked to Australian model and reality star Tyler Roos. Roos is the son of Australian Football League legend Paul Roos, and a former Australian Football player himself, and sent Anisimova a sweet message of support ahead of the 2020 Australian Open, but Anisimova has kept her private life just that in the years since.
There is a sense that the presence of family has been a boost for Anisimova and an important distraction from the pressures of moving through the main draw, with the star giving Jaxon’s fifth birthday on Thursday equal billing with her semi-final against Sabalenka.
A distraction may have been necessary. Sabalenka has been in strong grass-court form this season, the No 1 seed scything through the competition in SW19 with a view to making her first final at the Grand Slam. As one of the most consistent performers on either the ATP or WTA tour, there seemed to be little stopping her from doing so.
But Anisimova has a strong record against the three-time Grand Slam champion, having beaten her four times to Sabalenka’s three before they stepped on to Centre Court. She is also one of the few on women’s circuit who can match the 27-year-old for power, and bullied her opponent on serve.
Blessed with an imperious backhand, Anisimova battled through big-match nerves to secure the tight three-set win. A naturally emotional player whose frustrations can be visible to spectators via eye rolls, heaved shoulders, and even, against Pavlyuchenkova, a dramatic drop to her knees after being broken, it was Sabalenka who blinked first and found herself frustrated by the younger player.
Sabalenka shared that Anisimova had ‘p****d her off’ after she refused to apologise for a lucky ball striking the net cord – but who could blame her if the reward is a place in the Wimbledon final? Sabalenka, a ruthless competitor, more than met her match.
Anisimova previously dated Australian reality star Tyler Roos, but her private life remains far away from social media
Anisimova played her first grass-court final this summer at Queen’s against Tatjana Maria
In SW19, Anisimova is surrounded by her family – including her nephew Jaxon, whose birthday she celebrated on Thursday
The player frustrated world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka over three knife’s-edge sets that afternoon
She will now look to break Iga Swiatek’s flawless run in Grand Slam finals on Saturday
But there’s another peerless professional waiting for her in the final. Iga Swiatek may be having an unprecedented run on grass, but for her, a baking-hot Wimbledon is playing like her beloved Roland-Garros red clay. Swiatek won the girl’s title at the Championships in 2018, another sticky summer, and despite having failed to win a title since her French Open win in 2024, she has never lost any of her five Grand Slam finals.
The pairing is a tantalising one – Swiatek and Anisimova have never met on any surface as adults, with a 2016 Junior Fed Cup meeting the only fodder for head-to-head analysts.
For Anisimova however, there is triumph already in reaching the final.
‘It’s been an incredible year for me,’ she said after beating Sabalenka. ‘To be in the Wimbledon final, I mean, I’m still trying to process it, in a way.’
But how would the run look if she were to paint how she felt about it, the finalist was asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Ansimova said. ‘I typically do abstract, so it would be hard. A lot of green and white. So maybe it’s some inspiration for me when I get back to make a piece.’
Whether the painting will contain the gold glint of the Venus Rosewater Dish remains to be seen.
