After years of personal heartbreak and career setbacks, World No. 9 Amanda Anisimova has returned to tennis’s biggest stages. The 24-year-old American, once derailed by personal tragedy and time away from the sport, has reached consecutive Grand Slam finals, sealing her spot in the 2025 US Open championship match against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
How Did Amanda Anisimova Transform From Promising Junior to Grand Slam Contender?
Born in New Jersey to Russian immigrants Konstantin and Olga Anisimova, she discovered tennis through her father at age five after the family relocated to Miami. She idolized Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, the early influences that shaped her powerful baseline game and would define her career.
Her exceptional talent emerged early on the junior circuit. In 2016, she climbed to a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 2 after reaching the French Open girls’ singles final and Wimbledon junior doubles quarterfinals. The following year, she had her breakthrough moment when she captured the US Open junior title without dropping a set, defeating compatriot Coco Gauff in the final.
By 2019, Anisimova had made her professional breakthrough, reaching the French Open semifinals and becoming one of the youngest players to reach that stage in Paris in over a decade. The tennis world took notice of the rising American star.
However, that breakout year quickly turned devastating. Days before the 2019 US Open, her father and longtime coach, Konstantin, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at just 52 years old. The sudden loss forced her withdrawal from the tournament and left an emotional scar that would weigh heavily on her career for years to come. She struggled with consistency on the court while battling growing expectations off it.
The pressure eventually became overwhelming. In 2023, struggling with mental health challenges and the weight of expectations, Anisimova made the difficult decision to step away from tennis indefinitely. As she later revealed in interviews, she needed time to heal both mentally and emotionally before determining whether she wanted to continue competing at the highest level.
Her return in early 2024 represented nothing short of a climb from rock bottom. Ranked outside the top 400, she methodically rebuilt her confidence and game, stringing together hard-fought victories that gradually restored her place among the sport’s elite. That summer brought validation when she reached her first WTA 1000 final in Toronto, finishing as runner-up to compatriot Jessica Pegula.
The momentum continued building through early 2025. In February, she captured her maiden WTA 1000 title in Doha, a breakthrough triumph that launched her back into the top 20 rankings and announced her return to championship form.
That success carried into the grass court season, where she reached the Queen’s Club final before making her first Major final at Wimbledon, ultimately falling to former World No. 1 Iga Świątek. At the US Open, Anisimova has earned another shot at a Grand Slam title.
‘LET’S GO!’ She says! pic.twitter.com/LEh1KA4qmU
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2025
This championship match will mark her 10th meeting with the Belarusian, and Anisimova holds a commanding 6-3 head-to-head record against Sabalenka. It will also serve as a rematch of their Wimbledon semifinal, which Anisimova won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to secure her spot in that final.
