Amanda Anisimova has always been a "what if" story in American tennis. You know the type. The kid with the effortless power who makes a Grand Slam semifinal at 17 and then, suddenly, the world gets heavy. Very heavy. But if you watched the Amanda Anisimova US Open run in 2025, you saw something else entirely. It wasn't just about a girl hitting a yellow ball hard. It was about a 24-year-old who had stared down burnout, grief, and the "has-been" label before she even hit her mid-twenties.
Tennis is brutal. It’s lonely. Honestly, most people thought she might never come back after she stepped away in 2023. She was ranked 23rd then, but her soul was at zero. Then 2024 happened. She climbed back from outside the top 400. By the time she stepped onto the blue courts at Flushing Meadows in late 2025, she wasn't just a wild card story anymore. She was a threat.
The Resilience of the Amanda Anisimova US Open Final Run
Most of us remember that Wimbledon final just a few months prior. It was ugly. A "double bagel" loss—0-6, 0-6—to Iga Swiatek. That kind of defeat usually breaks a player's spirit for a season, maybe a career. You’d think she would walk into the US Open with a "just happy to be here" vibe.
Nope.
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She did something kinda insane. She watched the tape of that Wimbledon loss the night before her US Open quarterfinal rematch with Swiatek. She wanted to see the "slow as hell" version of herself so she could bury it. It worked. She rolled Swiatek in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. That victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium was, in her own words, the most meaningful win of her life.
The semifinals were even more of a heart-stopper. She went nearly three hours against Naomi Osaka. It was past midnight. The crowd was losing their minds. Anisimova was serving for the match, choked a bit, hit a double fault, and then—somehow—found that backhand down the line to clinch it. She became the first woman to reach a major final immediately after being shut out in the previous one's final. That's a specific kind of toughness you can't teach.
By the Numbers: The 2025 Breakthrough
- Ranking Jump: Started 2024 outside the Top 400; hit a career-high World No. 3 by January 2026.
- Titles: Won WTA 1000s in Doha and Beijing.
- The Sabalenka Rivalry: She actually holds a winning record against Aryna Sabalenka (6-3), even though she lost the 2025 US Open final to her in a tight 6-3, 7-6 battle.
- Three-Set Mastery: She won 13 straight three-set matches during her breakout year.
What Changed? The "Painting" Phase
So, why did it work this time? Basically, she stopped making tennis her entire identity. During her eight-month break in 2023, she didn't just sit around. She painted. She listened to Lil Wayne (her pre-match go-to). She lived a "normal" life in Florida and New Jersey.
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When she returned, she talked about "playing without fear." It sounds like a cliché, but for someone who lost her father and coach, Konstantin, right before the 2019 US Open, fear was a very real thing. She used to play with the weight of expectation. Now, she plays like she’s just trying to see how fast she can make the ball go.
Her game is built on "big ball-striking," as Jessica Pegula puts it. She doesn't just rally; she bosses people around the court. When that flat backhand is clicking, there isn't a player on the WTA tour—not Sabalenka, not Swiatek—who can comfortably stay in a cross-court exchange with her.
The Reality of the 2025 Final Loss
We have to talk about the final against Sabalenka. It was high-octane. Aryna was going for back-to-back titles, and she’s a brick wall of power. Anisimova had her chances. She broke back in the first set. She pushed the second to a tiebreak. But Sabalenka is the tiebreak queen (21-1 in 2025).
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Anisimova sat in her chair afterward and buried her face in a towel. It hurt. "I didn't fight hard enough for my dreams today," she said. But the rest of the world saw a player who had finally arrived. She wasn't the "prodigy" anymore. She was the veteran of her own survival.
Actionable Insights for Tennis Fans and Players
If you’re following the Amanda Anisimova US Open trajectory, there are a few things to keep an eye on as we move through 2026. Her rise to No. 3 in the world isn't a fluke; it's a blueprint.
- Watch the Serve: Anisimova’s groundstrokes are elite, but her serve can still be "flaky." If she keeps her double fault count under five per match, she’s almost unbeatable.
- Mental Health as a Performance Metric: Her success proves that taking a "recharging" break isn't a career-ender. It might actually be the only way to have a long career in the modern game.
- The Sabalenka Matchup: Watch for whenever these two meet in a draw. It is the premier "power vs. power" matchup in women's tennis right now.
- Surface Transition: While she's a hard-court beast, her first big run was on the clay of Roland Garros. Don't sleep on her during the spring swing.
Amanda's journey from a grieving teenager to a 2025 US Open finalist is easily one of the most human stories in sports. She didn't just come back to play; she came back to lead. As she enters the 2026 season as the new U.S. No. 1, the question isn't whether she’ll win a Slam—it’s just a matter of which one.
Next Steps for Following Her 2026 Season:
- Monitor the WTA live rankings to see if she can overtake Swiatek for the No. 2 spot.
- Track her three-set match win percentage; it’s the best indicator of her current fitness and mental grit.
- Look for her results in the "Sunshine Double" (Indian Wells and Miami), where she historically plays well in front of a home crowd.