Amanda Anisimova says she now spots burnout earlier as she prepares for US Open
Amanda Anisimova told reporters in New York on 26 August 2026 that she now recognises the early signs of burnout more quickly as she prepares to contest the US Open, where the world No 10 will aim to improve on last year and win her first grand slam title.
Anisimova’s career has included rapid rises and difficult setbacks: a junior standout who reached the French Open semi-finals in 2019, she lost her father, Konstantin, a few months later and struggled for motivation thereafter. In May 2023 she announced an indefinite break from tennis for mental health reasons, a decision she now regards as pivotal. She says that time away taught her to prioritise rest and wellbeing alongside training and competition. “I learned how important it is to have a great balance on and off the court,” Anisimova says.
She describes a new level of self-awareness about her physical and mental state on tour and has adopted a strategy of stepping back when practice or matches feel wrong. “I feel like I’ve become so much more self-aware now of when I’m anticipating or feeling like I’m reaching that point where I don’t feel as excited or as motivated,” she said. “Those signs are much more alarming to me now, and I catch them a lot earlier than I did before.”
Anisimova finished 2025 at No 4 in the world after a season that included a first grand slam final at Wimbledon, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals but then lost 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek in the final. That scoreline made her the first woman in more than a century not to win a game in a Wimbledon final. She credits perspective gained during her break with helping her process that experience. “I try to have a lot of perspective, and I think that really grounds me in a lot of situations,” she said. “When I take maybe 10 minutes for myself to just kind of reset and think about what it is I’m going through and have that perspective in mind, then I think that really helps me sometimes. And it’s not something that I really had when I was 20, 21.”
Following Wimbledon, Anisimova exacted on-court revenge against Swiatek at the US Open to reach a second consecutive major final, where she pushed Sabalenka in the title match. She won her fourth WTA Tour title in China and closed 2025 with a semi-final finish at the WTA Finals. After peaking at No 3 in January, a wrist injury interrupted her momentum, but a quarter-final run in Cincinnati has helped restore form ahead of Flushing Meadows.
On her game, the piece notes she possesses a powerful backhand and believes the timing for a breakthrough could be favourable with some leading contenders showing vulnerability; the article cites a dip in defending champion Sabalenka’s form and notes Coco Gauff won in Cincinnati. Discussing her ambitions, Anisimova said: “I have that eagerness and that motivation to achieve my dreams and win a grand slam one day. A lot of the things that it takes to get there, it’s not as pretty or as glamorous as people think. But I also love a challenge, and that’s why I am where I am today. I’m a pro athlete, and you don’t get to the place where you are without being uncomfortable. I think it’s just embracing that. You’re going to be uncomfortable 90% of the time, but I’m so driven by my goals, so that definitely makes it easier and more enjoyable for me. “It’s always been a dream to win a grand slam. You don’t really think about your dream as winning a [WTA] 1,000. It’s always the biggest thing you can win, whether it’s a grand slam or the Olympics, which both are huge dreams of athletes. For me, it was always the US Open. I think there’s just something about winning a grand slam that completes a tennis player’s life.”
Anisimova says she has regained rhythm in recent weeks and is looking forward to competing at the US Open on home soil. With a quarter-final showing in Cincinnati and her stated focus on managing wellbeing, she enters Flushing Meadows aiming to convert her form and experience into a first grand slam title.