Anisimova's career comes full circle after burnout fears
But instead of providing a launch pad for her career, that achievement led to a downward spiral.
From mid-August that year to the following May, Anisimova failed to win back-to-back matches in any of the 10 tournaments she entered, winning a paltry four matches in total during that miserable nine-month run.
With her time on the tour taking a toll on her mental health, in May 2023 she pulled the plug on her tennis year to try and get away from it all, after realising that she was simply burned out from the never-ending cycle of defeats.
When she made her comeback to the Grand Slam stage at the Australian Open last year, her ranking had plummeted to 442 but, now rejuvenated and ready to go again, that statistic did not faze her.
She made it to the last 16 before running into eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka, and rather than getting down in the dumps, Anisimova took it as proof that her career was back on an upward trajectory as it was the first time since Wimbledon 2022 that she had won three successive matches.
Even when she failed to qualify for Wimbledon last year, while ranked 189th, she knew that mentally she was in a better place than she had been 12 months earlier.
Fast forward 12 months and things are looking bright and sunny again for Anisimova - albeit at a soggy Wimbledon.
Seeded 13th, she is back in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon following a nerve-shredding 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory over Czech 30th seed Linda Noskova - a result that will allow her to break into the world's top 10 for the first time.
"I was just super excited to compete here ... and just being seeded was already really special," said the 23-year-old, who opened her Wimbledon account by handing Yulia Putintseva the dreaded 6-0 6-0 double bagel in the first round.
"I felt really good about myself because I think it was just a huge reminder of all the work and progress I've made so far this year.
"I knew that every match was going to be a battle, which it has been. I've just been really enjoying the journey here."
With French Open champion Gauff having suffered a shock first round exit at Wimbledon, Anisimova and 10th seed Emma Navarro, who plays her last 16 match against Mirra Andreeva on Monday, are the only Americans left with a chance of lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish come Saturday.
Anisimova will fancy her chances of reaching the semi-finals at the grasscourt major for the first time considering she holds a 3-0 win-loss record against her next opponent, Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
"Ever since I took my break, I just found this new perspective and this newfound sense of fighting for everything and accepting the challenges that come and embracing them," said Anisimova, born in New Jersey to Russian immigrants.
"A lot of things have changed ... I feel like my professionalism and work ethic has taken a whole 360. Everything is centred around my tennis and how I can prepare the best that I can.
"It's super special and a surreal feeling to be in the top 10. If I thought to myself last year ... that I'll be breaking the top 10 by now, it would be pretty surprising to me, considering where I was last summer."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
No end to Swiatek's new-found love of Wimbledon's green, green grass
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 7, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts during her round of 16 match against Denmark's Clara Tauson REUTERS/Isabel Infantes LONDON - Before this year, there was no love lost between Iga Swiatek and the grass courts of Wimbledon. So what if it was called the spiritual home of lawn tennis? So what if it was the tournament that tennis greats such as Martina Navratilova, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic picked out as the one they always wanted to win above any other? She may not have uttered the words "grass is for cows", as Ivan Lendl once did when he opted to skip the tournament to go on holiday, but Swiatek seemed to share that sentiment as Wimbledon was never a happy hunting ground for her. The five-times Grand Slam champion always looked like she could not wait to escape the leafy confines of the All England Club during her five previous visits, which often followed her run to the French Open title. It was the only major where she had failed to reach at least the last four and there was little evidence that she had the desire to improve that record -- until this year. On Monday, the Polish eighth seed found her grasscourt wings to fly into the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a soaring 6-4 6-1 victory over Danish 23rd seed Clara Tauson. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump announces 25% tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea in letters to leaders Business US stocks knocked lower by tariff jitters; Musk's political plan hits Tesla Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in GSTV cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses Singapore Singapore's second mufti Sheikh Syed Isa Semait dies at age 87 Singapore Fewer marriages in Singapore in 2024; greater marital stability for recent unions Singapore Competition watchdog gives SIA, Malaysia Airlines conditional approval to continue cooperation Singapore About 20 delivery riders meet Pritam Singh to discuss platform worker issues "It's pretty amazing, this is the first time ever I've enjoyed London," she told the crowd who started laughing. "Sorry guys, I mean I've always enjoyed it. I feel good on the court when I feel good off the court." That feelgood factor was missing during her opening two service games with Danish 23rd seed Tauson on Monday as Swiatek kept misfiring her serve. Cries of "ohh" rang around Court One as she opened her account with two double faults en route to dropping her serve to love. When she produced another two successive double faults to drop her serve again in the third game the gasps grew louder and Tauson must have thought it was game on for her to knock out another Grand Slam champion following her success over 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina two days ago. But from 3-1 down in the first set, and fuelled by her favourite Wimbledon diet of pasta tossed with strawberries and yoghurt, Swiatek sprinted away with eight of the last nine games. After extending her perfect record against Danish opponents to 4-0, she delved deeper into what had clicked for her on grass. "I felt this year that I could really develop as a player. I'm doing the job no matter what the results are going to be," said the Pole, who will next face Russian Liudmila Samsonova. "I feel like I'm doing a great job at just learning how to play on grass. First time I feel, like, more comfortable. I feel like the process has some kind of logic. "It's tough when the expectations are high and people talk to you like you're underperforming. I guess this year is just different." The transition from the clay to grass has not been easy for Swiatek, who has had to get out of her comfort zone to come up with a winning formula. While she has mastered the art of sliding across clay, tennis's slowest surface, in order to conjure up shots that are beyond the capability of most of her rivals, she has had to abandon that manoeuvre on the slicker turf courts. "I've been watching Carlos (Alcaraz) a little bit and Novak (Djokovic). I see them slide (on grass). Obviously it's possible but you just need to kind of trust it," she said. "Since I never played so many matches on grass as this year, I've never had time to really trust it." But at least she now has faith that she can do well on grass, especially as she has a great chance to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time considering she has a 4-0 record over Samsonova. Just in case any doubts lingered about Swiatek's chances of finally lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish come Saturday, Tauson said: "She's probably impossible to beat." REUTERS
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
No end to Swiatek's new-found love of Wimbledon's green, green grass
LONDON :Before this year, there was no love lost between Iga Swiatek and the grass courts of Wimbledon. So what if it was called the spiritual home of lawn tennis? So what if it was the tournament that tennis greats such as Martina Navratilova, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic picked out as the one they always wanted to win above any other? She may not have uttered the words "grass is for cows", as Ivan Lendl once did when he opted to skip the tournament to go on holiday, but Swiatek seemed to share that sentiment as Wimbledon was never a happy hunting ground for her. The five-times Grand Slam champion always looked like she could not wait to escape the leafy confines of the All England Club during her five previous visits, which often followed her run to the French Open title. It was the only major where she had failed to reach at least the last four and there was little evidence that she had the desire to improve that record - until this year. On Monday, the Polish eighth seed found her grasscourt wings to fly into the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a soaring 6-4 6-1 victory over Danish 23rd seed Clara Tauson. "It's pretty amazing, this is the first time ever I've enjoyed London," she told the crowd who started laughing. "Sorry guys, I mean I've always enjoyed it. I feel good on the court when I feel good off the court." That feelgood factor was missing during her opening two service games with Danish 23rd seed Tauson on Monday as Swiatek kept misfiring her serve. Cries of "ohh" rang around Court One as she opened her account with two double faults en route to dropping her serve to love. When she produced another two successive double faults to drop her serve again in the third game the gasps grew louder and Tauson must have thought it was game on for her to knock out another Grand Slam champion following her success over 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina two days ago. But from 3-1 down in the first set, and fuelled by her favourite Wimbledon diet of pasta tossed with strawberries and yoghurt, Swiatek sprinted away with eight of the last nine games. After extending her perfect record against Danish opponents to 4-0, she delved deeper into what had clicked for her on grass. "I felt this year that I could really develop as a player. I'm doing the job no matter what the results are going to be," said the Pole, who will next face Russian Liudmila Samsonova. "I feel like I'm doing a great job at just learning how to play on grass. First time I feel, like, more comfortable. I feel like the process has some kind of logic. "It's tough when the expectations are high and people talk to you like you're underperforming. I guess this year is just different." The transition from the clay to grass has not been easy for Swiatek, who has had to get out of her comfort zone to come up with a winning formula. While she has mastered the art of sliding across clay, tennis's slowest surface, in order to conjure up shots that are beyond the capability of most of her rivals, she has had to abandon that manoeuvre on the slicker turf courts. "I've been watching Carlos (Alcaraz) a little bit and Novak (Djokovic). I see them slide (on grass). Obviously it's possible but you just need to kind of trust it," she said. "Since I never played so many matches on grass as this year, I've never had time to really trust it." But at least she now has faith that she can do well on grass, especially as she has a great chance to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time considering she has a 4-0 record over Samsonova. Just in case any doubts lingered about Swiatek's chances of finally lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish come Saturday, Tauson said: "She's probably impossible to beat."
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Sinner gets out of jail to reach last eight as Dimitrov retires at Wimbledon
LONDON :Top seed Jannik Sinner struggled with an elbow problem and was given an almighty scare before advancing to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon after a cruel twist of fate for his 19th-seeded opponent Grigor Dimitrov who retired injured while two sets up. Novak Djokovic continued his quest for Grand Slam glory at the All England Club with a battling victory over Alex de Minaur while five-times major champion Iga Swiatek found her grasscourt wings to fly past Clara Tauson. The drama was reserved for the evening clash on Centre Court as Dimitrov, who had pulled out injured in his last four majors, played exquisite tennis to go up 6-3 7-5 2-2 but then crashed to the ground after a big ace to hold serve. Sinner, who had been hampered for much of the contest by a right elbow issue after slipping and falling to the turf early on, was left feeling sorry for his opponent who threw in the towel after a short assessment by a doctor. "I don't know what to say because he's an incredible player. I think we all saw this today," said Sinner, who was by a tearful Dimitrov's side while the Bulgarian was attended to. "He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He's an incredible player, a good friend of mine also, and we understand each other very well off the court too. "Seeing him in this position... if there would be a chance that he could play in the next round, he would deserve it. Now I hope he has a speedy recovery. Very, very unlucky from his side. "I don't take this as a win at all... just an unfortunate moment to witness for all of us." Sinner next faces American 10th seed Ben Shelton, who beat another Italian in Lorenzo Sonego 3-6 6-1 7-6(1) 7-5 to advance to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time, as did Flavio Cobolli, who downed Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(3). ROCKY ROAD Djokovic marched into the Wimbledon last eight for the 16th time but the Serbian trod a rocky road before defeating De Minaur 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 to keep alive his quest for a 25th major title to surpass Margaret Court. Watched from the Royal Box by another great in Roger Federer, the man whose record eight All England Club trophies Djokovic is trying to equal, the sixth seed surrendered the first set in 31 minutes before roaring back to win. "We did catch up very shortly," Djokovic said of his meeting with Federer afterwards. "We greeted each other. He congratulated me and said it was a great match. That's all. It was a very short greeting, but it was really nice to have him around. "He's one of the greatest legends of our game. So it always is extra special when he's on the stands. I'm glad to break the curse and win in front of him. It's a big relief." Federer's fellow Swiss and former doubles partner Belinda Bencic made her first Wimbledon quarter-final in nine attempts after dismissing 18th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4) 6-4 in a little under two hours on a breezy Court One. The 28-year-old Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion shed tears of joy after she finally broke the fourth-round barrier 15 months since giving birth to her daughter Bella and she said she was surprised at her high level. "I'm really happy about it. Of course, I try not to think about it. I feel great on the practice court. When I was coming back, that's why I felt like I came back earlier than expected, than I expected for myself," Bencic said. "I'm also surprised about how fast the results are coming." She will need all her battling qualities when she takes on seventh seed Mirra Andreeva, the Russian teenager who made short work of American 10th seed Emma Navarro 6-2 6-3 on her Centre Court debut with her idol Federer still in attendance. Swiatek shrugged off a slow start to beat Danish 23rd seed Tauson 6-4 6-1 and set up a meeting with Liudmila Samsonova, who saw off Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5 7-5.
