The American Who Just Made a Wimbledon Final—Two Years After Walking Away From Tennis

Amanda Anisimova is set to face Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon women’s final.

London

Amanda Anisimova was a textbook case of the American tennis phenom who burned out.

She had moved to Florida, torn through the ranks of junior tennis, and won the girls U.S. Open title all before her 17th birthday. She had reached a Grand Slam semifinal before her 18th. But as the expectations grew, Anisimova felt herself buckling under the strain. The death of her father only deepened her doubts about life in pro tennis.

So in 2023, she announced that she was taking an indefinite break from the circuit.

Now she’s about to play a Wimbledon final.

On Thursday, Anisimova took down world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three bruising sets on a broiling Centre Court. She squandered three match points and lost her serve three times, but found enough resolve when it mattered to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The reward is a first major final against five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek.

“This doesn’t feel real right now,” the 23-year-old, New Jersey-born Anisimova said on court. “Aryna’s an incredible competitor and I was dying out there… If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you.”

More than just a personal turnaround, Anisimova’s run here also continues a renaissance in U.S. women’s tennis. Americans have now reached the finals of four consecutive majors and won the past two.

Anisimova’s run also continues a renaissance in U.S. women’s tennis.

Still, no one would have bet on Anisimova being next on the list. Her disbelief is easy to understand. This time last year, she was plugging away in Wimbledon qualifying and failed to make it to the main draw. Anisimova had only been back on tour for a few months and was ranked No. 189 in the world. But slowly, she was rediscovering the big serve and fearsome backhand that had made her such a dazzling junior player.

“When I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game,” she said. “That was a little hard to digest because I did want to come back, and still achieve a lot, and win a Grand Slam one day.”

The irony is that the original plan in Anisimova’s family had been to turn her older sister, Maria, into the tennis pro. In 2002, her Russian-emigré parents even drove to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., to introduce themselves to the prodigy-whispering coach Nick Bolletieri, who had built stars such as Maria Sharapova. Not long after, the family relocated to the Miami area, where Amanda did her best to imitate whatever her sister was learning on the court.

But while Maria topped out playing college tennis at the University of Pennsylvania, it soon became clear that Amanda was bound for bigger things.

She won the 2017 U.S. Open junior title by beating a bright young talent named Coco Gauff. The following year, Anisimova notched her first victory over a top-10 player at Indian Wells. And in 2019, she charged into a Roland-Garros semifinal.

IN 2019, Anisimova made a run to the French Open semifinals.

By 2023, however, the joy had gone out of her game. Still grieving her father and frustrated by her own results, Anisimova found that she simply couldn’t string two wins together. She lost eight of her first 11 matches that season and decided to step away.

“It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments,” she wrote at the 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.”

It took eight months for her to return. And no part of it went as smoothly as she hoped. Relearning the demands of being an elite athlete—the discipline, the travel, the exhaustion—left her wondering occasionally if she’d done the right thing. “Coming out of that break,” she said, “it wasn’t all upward.”

Only after last year’s Wimbledon qualifiers did it begin to look like the tennis gifts were still there—a hard court final in Toronto, a first tournament win in three years in Doha, and then another final at a grass-court tuneup last month.

“I was going in with no expectations really,” she said.

Anisimova didn’t come to the All England Club feeling much more optimistic. But starting the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 victory made for a relaxing start. And since then, she has felt more comfortable on the Wimbledon grass than she has on any tennis court in years.

“Being able to be in the top again at a career high just meant a lot to me,” Anisimova said. “The rest I just told myself I’m going to compete and enjoy every moment out there.”