“I think it was the best decision ever”: How Amanda Anisimova turned a break Into a breakthrough year

Amanda Anisimova’s 2025 season stands as the most complete campaign of her career, ending inside the world’s top five after reaching two Grand Slam finals and winning WTA 1000 titles in Doha and Beijing. Her results matched a level of stability she had long sought, following a nearly year-long hiatus from her career and a ranking drop to outside the top 400 by February 2024.

The American No. 2 is only 24 years old, yet she already feels like a seasoned veteran on the Tour. “I’ve been on tour since I was 16, so in that sense, I feel like it’s been a long time,” she recently commented in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “But at the same time, I don’t like feeling old and feeling Ohhh, there’s this new generation, and I’m not part of that anymore. It’s like a weird transition.”

Back in 2017—at just 16—she made her first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw, debuting at Roland Garros thanks to a wildcard. Two years later, she surprised the tennis world by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and the semifinals at the French Open, eventually falling in three sets to champion Ashleigh Barty.

She had already tallied two finals and her first title at the Copa Colsanitas in Colombia, finishing that season inside the top 25 for the first time in her career at just 18. Anisimova was already recognized as a talent on the tour, but one who hadn't quite made the leap to the top tier.

By 2023, injuries and irregular results in the first months of the year led her to decide to take a break from professional activity, keeping her off the Tour for nine months when she was barely 22. “I think it was the best decision ever. And I think it also changed me as the person I am off the court,” she said. “When I came back from my break, I’ve just been growing into this, into the person I am, and just becoming more comfortable and more free with myself.”

Anisimova returned to the courts in 2024, and it took a few months to regain her level. By May, she achieved her return to the top 200, and in August she finally made her return to the top 100 after reaching the final of the Canadian Open—which catapulted her to world No. 49. From there, she returned to the big tournaments and, racking up wins, finished the season at No. 36.

However, not many would have expected the American's massive leap early in 2025. “I already won my first 1000 in February… bringing a really high level. That’s the biggest thing that I’ve done to grow as a player.” During the season, Anisimova won two WTA 1000 titles (Doha, Beijing) and reached the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

She reached her first major final at Wimbledon—leaving world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in her wake. However, in the final, she crashed out against Iga Świątek in a crushing 0-6, 0-6 loss. Her opportunity for revenge would arrive sooner rather than later, eliminating that same Świątek at the US Open.

“I told myself it’s a new day and a new match… I kept telling myself to focus on that,” the world No. 4 said. “And then I had gotten to the gym to warm up for my match, and they were just like, playing the replay [of the Wimbledon final], but I didn’t look. I could see my peripheral, like, ESPN … I think that actually fueled me a little bit. I was like, O.K., we got this.”

These breakthroughs came after a personal turning point during her break from the sport in 2023, which allowed her to recalibrate before beginning a more controlled 2024 season. That reset prepared her for handling the pressure of late-stage matches in 2025, including a WTA Finals run where she beat Madison Keys and earned another win over Swiatek. “What if I never came back and just called it quits? I didn’t like the thought of that… I still had so many things I wanted to achieve in my career.”

The American acknowledged that ending her career never crossed her mind, and that she hoped to take the appropriate time to achieve a competitive return to the Tour. “I knew I was going to have to work my ass off, but I was ready to do it. I just needed that time to reset,” the 24-year-old star added. “At that moment when I was making my decision, people said, Oh, just push through this. Or, like, it’ll get easier and just, like, try and get through it. But I think if I had done that, it would have set me back even further. Yeah, I think it was the best decision ever.”