Anisimova, a Wimbledon semi-finalist, reached the 2019 French Open semi-finals as a 17-year-old when she defended champion Simona Halep along the way, and moved inside the world’s top 25. However, four years later, she knew it was the time to stop.
Amanda Anisimova found it “unbearable” to be at tennis tournaments as she was struggling with mental health and burnout, reports BBC. From taking holidays to enjoying with her friends and family to attending classes in person for a semester, she stayed away from tennis until the itch returned. She did not touch a racquet for months.
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After picking up her fourth consecutive defeat in April of that year, the American took to Instagram and announced that she was stepping away from tennis to address her mental health. During that time, she explored various things off the court and hung out with her friends.
Anisimova is thankful she could take the time to reset. She is set to face the world number one Aryna Sabalenka for a place in a first Grand Slam final.
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“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,” the 23-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“What I’ve learned is to listen honestly to yourself, to your intuition and what your body is telling you.”
“I feel like just me being honest and vulnerable about a topic that might be a bit stigmatized in a way, I think that was super important, and for other people to have a different outlook or perspective on, you can struggle with your mental health. It’s just as important as your physical health. Especially when it comes to sports and pursuing this as a career. The lifestyle can be different if you don’t find that right balance. It can get lonely at times,” the 23-year-old was quoted as saying by the Tennis World USA.
Eight months later, Anisimova returned to tennis at the start of the 2024 season. Since then, the 23-year-old has been looking much happier on the court and it led to her becoming a WTA 1000 champion in Doha. Now, she is also through to her first Wimbledon semifinal and set to break into the top-10 for the first time in her career on Monday.
