Who is Amanda Anisimova? Meet the underdog who was written off before she reached the Wimbledon final

Irish Independent

11 hours ago

American Anisimova is the latest unexpected Wimbledon finalist in the women's singles after defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the last four.
Yet in some ways it should be no surprise that the 23-year-old has found her way on to the sport's biggest stage because it was where she appeared destined to be heading as a teenager.
She defeated Coco Gauff to win the US Open junior title just after her 16th birthday and by 17 was a top-30 star and a French Open semi-finalist.
But then came the sudden death of her father from a heart attack and difficulties with form and injury, and by early 2023 Anisimova felt so burnt out by the sport that she took an indefinite break.
With restoring her mental health the priority, the Floridian revived a childhood love of art, selling her paintings to raise money for charity.
In January last year, Anisimova felt ready to return to the tour and six years on from her Roland Garros breakthrough she is back challenging for the sport's biggest titles.
Anisimova will leave Wimbledon as a top-10 player, and maybe a grand slam champion, although to achieve that she will have to get the better of five-time major winner Swiatek.
Their only meeting on court came nine years ago in the Junior Fed Cup, when Swiatek, who is three months older, emerged the winner.
'She was a great junior,' said Anisimova. 'I remember a lot of coaches were saying that she's going to be a big deal one day. Yeah, obviously they were right.
'Iga is such an unbelievable player. She's also been an inspiration to me. Her work ethic and all of her achievements have been really inspiring. I'm sure it will be an amazing match again.
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'Getting to compete against an unbelievable player again is going to be super special. Hopefully I can bring some high-quality tennis and make it a battle out there. I'm just going to go out and enjoy every moment and try to not think about what's on the line there.'
Swiatek is happy to see her former junior rival, who lost in qualifying here last year, back in the big time, saying: 'Anybody who struggles and gets back at a better level deserves a lot of respect.
'For sure, Amanda is one of these players that kept going forwards in tough situations. I always wished her the best. Good job for her.'
Anisimova's run here has come amid the best season of her career, and she can take confidence from the fact players with her power game style have often proved troublesome for Swiatek.
'She knows how to play on grass,' added the Pole. 'With her game style, the surface fits her. So it's going to be a challenge.'
Swiatek has suddenly found the surface fits her as well having never previously been beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
Coming off a disappointing campaign on her favoured clay, with the former world number one dropping to eighth in the rankings, Swiatek is only a marginally less surprising finalist than Anisimova.
She certainly has more experience of grand slam finals than her opponent – and has never lost one – but Anisimova is confident, having taken a circuitous route to this moment, that she will not get stage fright.
'I think for sure that's going to be coming into play a bit, keeping our nerves at bay and staying composed,' she said.
'I would say we're both pretty experienced. Obviously I haven't been in a grand slam final before but I've experienced a lot of moments similar and a lot of high-stakes matches. I feel like I'm pretty prepared.'
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