Amanda Anisimova is looking to rediscover her rhythm during the North American hardcourt swing. She began her Toronto campaign in the third round with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 comeback victory over rising Czech star Nikola Bartůňková on Thursday.
The eighth seed, who is chasing her third WTA 1000 title at the tournament, received a first-round bye before advancing directly to the third round after her scheduled second-round opponent, Lanlana Tararudee, withdrew from the event.
Amanda Anisimova Opens Up on Renewing Her Partnership With Hendrik Vleeshouwers in Toronto
Anisimova’s 2026 season has been a challenging one. After beginning the year at a career-high World No. 3 ranking, the American struggled to find consistency during the opening hardcourt swing. Following a run to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, she was unable to defend her Doha title and suffered early exits at Indian Wells and Miami.
She subsequently separated from her coach of two years, Vleeshouwers, who guided her to two WTA 1000 titles and two Grand Slam finals last year. The Dutch coach also received the WTA Coach of the Year award in 2025 for his successful partnership with the player.
Anisimova’s clay- and grass-court campaigns were then disrupted by a wrist injury, during which she began a trial partnership with Sebastian Sachs, the German coach who has previously worked with the likes of Emma Raducanu and Belinda Bencic.
Ahead of the Canadian Open, however, the American was back with Vleeshouwers. “I was kind of missing what we had last year, like that energy and that connection that we have,” she said of their initial separation during her press conference in Toronto.
“I feel like with the break now it was good that we had some space, and we learned what went wrong towards the end. I take a lot of responsibility for that. I feel like our closeness kind of let me spiral in some ways and kind of act ineffectively at times,” she said.
The first half of the season also saw Anisimova struggle to keep her emotions in check, with several on-court outbursts directed at her team during tense moments. One of the most notable came during her Australian Open loss to Jessica Pegula, when she turned to her coach and seemingly shouted, “Tell me something. Sitting there, doing nothing.”
“The fact that we’ve had some space and had some time apart actually really helped us. We talked about that this week. How we both agree that we’ve learned a lot and, I don’t know, we just seem both more calm and we’ve learned a lot from the experiences last year.”
“He’s just someone that really cares about me as a person and cares about having fun off the court, which really suits me, especially as a player,” she added.
MORE: Regretful Amanda Anisimova Made Her Position Clear on Angry Outburst Against Team at Australian Open
With Hendrik Vleeshouwers back in her corner, Amanda Anisimova will be hoping to go one step further in Toronto after finishing runner-up at the 2024 Canadian Open. The American is also looking to build momentum ahead of the US Open, where she will defend the runner-up finish she achieved last year. Standing in her way of a quarterfinal berth is ninth seed Elina Svitolina, whom she faces on Saturday.
