(Reuters) -Amanda Anisimova, who has made an inspiring return to tennis since taking a mental health break in 2023, may have been on the wrong side of a lopsided Wimbledon final last month but expects that will only make her stronger for the U.S. Open.
The American made waves on the WTA Tour as a teenage prodigy but in 2023 took an eight-month break from the sport to focus on her mental health, a stretch during which she went months without picking up a racket.
Anisimova returned to action in 2024 and failed to make the main draw at Wimbledon but a year later the 23-year-old enjoyed a magical run to the final at the All England Club where she was brushed aside 6-0 6-0 by Iga Swiatek in 57 minutes.
“When I got back to the locker room, I kind of had that switch in my mind of, ‘You know what, this is probably going to make you stronger in the end and to not really dig myself down or put myself down after today and just try and focus on how I can come out stronger after this’,” said Anisimova.
“It’s honestly, like, a fork in the road. It’s whatever direction you want to go in. I’m going to choose the path of working towards my goals and to try and keep improving.”
Anisimova’s next chance at Grand Slam glory will come at the U.S. Open where the main draw begins on Sunday and where she lost in the first round last year and enjoyed her best result in 2020 when she reached the third round.
Despite having never reached the second week in New York, world number eight Anisimova has more reasons to be confident in her ability going into the year’s final Grand Slam.
In addition to her Wimbledon run, Anisimova won the first WTA 1000 title of her career in February, a triumph that saw her crack the top 20 for the first time in her career.
Anisimova, who was ranked as low as 359th in 2023 when she took a break, admitted her Wimbledon loss was “tough to digest” and knows she has improvements to make but takes comfort in finally having a Grand Slam final under her belt.
“To be able to last two weeks in a Grand Slam is definitely something that you need to work a lot on. It’s not an easy feat,” said Anisimova.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of room for improvement, I think. If anything, I think it’s more experience for me on how to handle nerves. It’s my first slam final, so at least I have that experience now.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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