Amid a career-best season, Amanda Anisimova has added another feather to her cap this year by reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2025. However, her rise to the upper echelon of women’s tennis this year has been far from easy. She has endured a lot, both on and off the court.
Anisimova’s potential was visible to one and all since her junior days. She beat Coco Gauff in the final to win the girls’ singles title at the US Open 2017. She began her transition to the WTA Tour from 2018, accomplishing a lot as a teenager. She won her maiden title at 17 years of age at the Copa Colsanitas 2019 and then reached the semifinals of the French Open a few weeks later.
Expectations were high from Anisimova and she began to feel the pressure. Following her breakout 2019 season, she struggled to perform consistently for the next two years. She had a resurgence in 2022, winning a title and making the last eight at Wimbledon. However, she couldn’t sustain this level, and eventually decided to take a break.
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The grind of the tour was starting to overwhelm Anisimova, negatively impacting her mental health. She then made the bold decision of taking a break in the middle of the 2023 season in order to take care of herself.
"Hey guys. I thought I’d make a post explaining what’s been going on and my plans. I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022. It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At this point my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it. I will miss being out there, and I appreciate all the continuous support," Anisimova wrote on Instagram.
Anisimova's time away from the sport did wonders for her. She slowly worked her way back to the top in 2024, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open and her first WTA 1000 final at the Canadian Open. That laid the foundation for her success in 2025. While many players experience burnout, the American, along with plenty of women, had to deal with another pervasive problem, body shaming.
Amanda Anisimova has dealt with incessant body shaming throughout her career
Most women grow up hearing unwarranted remarks regarding their bodies. It's especially worse for those in the public eye, and with the advent of social media, comments from trolls have increased manifold. Amanda Anisimova has dealt with the same since the start of her career.
Anisimova hasn't kept the matter to herself, calling out people who body shame her and speaking up about the issue. She went public with one nasty message she received on Instagram two years ago, calling out the person for his "hyper fixation" with her body. The person had called her "unathletic" with a terrible physique.
"The most unathletic body ever! Narrow shoulders and giant boobs." the message said.
"The amount of people who comment on my body every day on social media… will never understand what the hyper fixation is about. But enjoy your life, I’ll go enjoy mine. Thanks for all the input," Anisimova said.
Anisimova was feeling proud of herself following her run to the final of the Canadian Open 2024. She took to social media to outline her next career goals, when one person chimed in with an unnecessary remark about her appearance. She didn't hesitate to clap back at the troll.
"Why? She wants to be world Nr. 1 player and win a GS. Being overweight as a professional athlete doesn’t really help her reach her goals," the troll wrote on X.
"Don’t you have anything better to do than comment on a 22-year-old’s body? Like do you have a job or friends? Damn dude trust me, I’m okay and I don’t think anyone here is asking for your advice lolz," Anisimova retorted.
Such comments must've also contributed to Anisimova's deteriorating mental health a couple of years ago. She seems to be in a good place now and that's reflected in her tennis as well. Hopefully, she will continue to thrive this way after all her struggles.
