Amanda Anisimova stopped playing in 2023. Now she may win Wimbledon : NPR
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:The American tennis player Amanda Anisimova will play tomorrow in the women's final at Wimbledon. It is a remarkable run for her because two years ago, she quit tennis altogether. NPR's Becky Sullivan has her story.BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Amanda Anisimova will be the first to admit she's had quite the journey in her tennis career. This week, a reporter asked her to describe it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)AMANDA ANISIMOVA: How would I describe it (laughter)? I guess a bit of a roller coaster.SULLIVAN: Anisimova is 23 now, but as a teenager, she was a prodigy, only 17 when she swept her way to the French Open semifinals back in 2019 without losing a single set.(CHEERING)UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken), Anisimova.SULLIVAN: After winning the match point, she tossed her racket aside in shock, and the camera lingered on her face long enough that you could clearly see her say, what?(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Do you realize what is happening - semifinal against world No. 3, everything?ANISIMOVA: No, I don't think it will sink in, at least not for today. So yeah, I mean, it's crazy. I really...SULLIVAN: I from that moment, the teenage Anisimova was flung into the fast-paced world of high-level professional tennis - tournaments in Majorca, London, Beijing, New Zealand, Dubai. The grueling schedule swept her away from her home and family in Florida, but she struggled to repeat that early success. And with disappointment after disappointment, the stress began to mount so intense, she would get stomach aches. Then athletes like the tennis player Naomi Osaka began to speak more openly about their mental health issues, and Anisimova began to put voice to her own.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)ANISIMOVA: Sometimes you doubt it. Like, what if I get injured, and I'll never be able to play in a Grand Slam again? Like, those thoughts try to creep up in my head sometimes.SULLIVAN: Finally, the stress reached a breaking point. In May of 2023, right as the summer tennis season was kicking into high gear, Anisimova called it quits. On her Instagram, she wrote that it had become, quote, "unbearable" to be at tennis tournaments, so she was taking a break.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)ANISIMOVA: I honestly never took a break that was longer than, like, two weeks in my life. So I think I just needed that as a human being to just rest for, like, once and just let my body recover.SULLIVAN: She didn't touch a racket for months, she says. Instead, for the first time in her life, she tried living like a normal 20-something. She took a road trip through the Great Smoky Mountains, vacationed in Europe, held her sister's newborn baby, did karaoke with friends...(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) Well, since you've been gone.SULLIVAN: ...Got into painting, went water skiing...(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Yes. Yes, yes, yes.SULLIVAN: ...Did a semester of classes at college. Then finally, she started training again and came back to the tour last year. For professional athletes, it can be terrifying to take a break like that 'cause there's no guarantee you can get back to the level that you left.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)ANISIMOVA: When I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you'd take so much time away from the game, and that was a little hard to digest.SULLIVAN: For a while, it looked like Anisimova might not make it back. A low point was at last year's Wimbledon, where she lost in the qualifiers. That was heartbreaking, she said this week.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)ANISIMOVA: Coming out of that break, it wasn't all upward. There were definitely some ups and downs coming out of it and, you know, getting used to the lifestyle and just being an athlete at this level. It's not easy. So yeah, I definitely had to find my way back.SULLIVAN: Now, that sweet feeling of happy disbelief is back. This time around at Wimbledon, she has won six straight matches, including a semifinal victory over the world's top-ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka.(CHEERING)UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: That's it. Amanda Anisimova has done it.SULLIVAN: Tomorrow, Anisimova will face the five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the final.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)ANISIMOVA: Being able to prove that, you know, you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself. So that's been incredibly special to me. And yeah, it means a lot.SULLIVAN: If Anisimova wins, it will be her first Grand Slam title. And even if she doesn't, she'll move into the Top 10 for the first time in her career.Becky Sullivan, NPR News.Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. 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