"At times I was thinking, 'Is this really real life?'" - Anisimova reflects on turbulent ride to top of tennis after thrilling 2025 campaign

Amanda Anisimova has become one of the best players in the world, although her route to the top was somewhat unorthodox. She looked back on her tennis career, pinpointing the important lessons she has learned enroute to the success she has achieved. She spoke on the ups and downs to the WTA on Behind the Curtain along with much more.

Reminiscing back through her WTA career, she went straight to the start, explaining her first experience on the WTA Tour in a very prestigious competition. "My first WTA match was actually at the Miami Open, at my home tournament," she stated. "It was a tough match against Taylor Townsend, but it was super exciting. I had a lot of family and friends there, which made it really special."

In her rise to the top of tennis, she has admired a huge amount of players, but a certain 23-time Grand Slam champion was firmly at the top of her list. "I would say Serena Williams. Obviously, she’s a legend and has achieved more than anybody in this sport. I love the fact that she always did things her way."

She was asked which surface was her favourite, with success being shown on all three. "Probably hard court, because I grew up playing on it," she admitted. "But honestly, I love playing on all surfaces. I feel comfortable on grass, clay, and hard courts, and I love that we get to play on all of them throughout the year."

A lot of tennis players would completely switch off from the sport when they put their racket down, but Anisimova has recently gone against this trend. "Even though I’m around tennis all the time, I actually like watching tennis-related things. I recently started watching the Player Box podcast, and it’s so entertaining. It’s funny because I play tennis all day, but I still enjoy watching it."

But when focused on the task at hand, she turns to family and friends for reassurance, along with meditation. "I love to meditate and do certain exercises before matches," she explained. "I don’t really tell my team when I’m about to do it, which is kind of funny, but I always do. Sometimes this might sound a bit strange, but I’ll listen to voice memos or messages people have sent me — usually from friends — and they really help calm me in stressful moments. Motivational voice memos, basically."

Tennis can be a hugely emotional sport for many players, whether getting over the line for a big title or losing an extremely painful match. Anisimova decided to focus on the positive memories over the negative ones when asked when the first time she cried in tennis.

"I’ll say happy tears, because there have definitely been a lot of sad ones," she said. "The first time I cried at a match from happiness was this year at Wimbledon, in the round of 16 against Linda Nosková. It was such a close match, and I think I was just so relieved that I won."

She would make it a lot further in the tournament but it was nevertheless a very special moment. "It was late, so I was probably a bit more vulnerable, but I was just so happy — especially seeing how far I’d come from a year ago. I know it was 'only' the round of 16, but it was super special to me. That whole tournament was a great one."

The last time she cried was a lot more recent than this. "Honestly, I cried yesterday. I cry less now, though. I have something in my eye," she laughed. "But seriously, it was after practice yesterday. Some days you just don’t feel like yourself, but I still trained and still showed up. That’s all that matters. Some days are just more emotional than others."

The 24-year-old has had so many supporters in her time on the court but pinpointed two special people in her life. "For sure my mum and my sister. Family is super important to me. I also have a lot of special people in my life — my team and my friends. I’m really grateful for my support system. They’re my biggest supporters."

She was then asked who doubted her the most, which she was a little taken back from. "Whoa — what are you doing? I’m not calling anybody out," she joked. "But I’ve definitely had a lot of people doubt my abilities and my potential throughout my life. That only gives me more motivation. Proving to yourself — and sometimes to others — that you’re capable of something people don’t think you can do is really powerful."

Every time she walks onto the court, there is still a very nerve-wracking feeling she still gets despite doing it hundreds of times before. "It’s funny — I’ve played for so long, and I still get butterflies in my stomach, especially at Grand Slams and big matches," she said. "It’s more excitement than nerves, but it never really goes away. Right before the first point, I try to embrace everyone who came out to support me. When the stadium is full, it’s incredibly touching. Reminding myself that people are there to watch me is really special."

Her tennis career was not always straightforward. She took a break from the sport citing burnout and mental health struggles but is back and traversing the oncoming obstacles. "We have such a long year with so many tournaments and challenges — matches, injuries, off-court struggles. But we keep showing up. I think that resilience says a lot about us as athletes. No matter what, we try to fight every day and do the best we can."

She has achieved so much last year, winning two WTA 1000 titles and making a brace of Grand Slam finals. "It was bumpy at first. I was really excited, but there were challenges I had to face along the way," she commented. "This year has been incredibly special — a real joy ride. I’ve had so many highs, and a lot of dreams have come true that I couldn’t achieve before my break. At times I was thinking, 'Is this really real life?' I’ve achieved things I didn’t think were possible, especially so soon after coming back. And having my family there to witness some of those moments made it even more special."

In this period, she has learned a lot and taken a number of hugely key lessons in her topsy turvey journey to the top. "It’s okay to slow down and trust the process. Good things take time. When you’re ready, things will happen for you when they’re meant to. That’s probably the biggest thing tennis has taught me," she concluded.