Amanda Anisimova could win her first tennis Grand Slam when she takes on Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon today.
This is the 23-year-old first Grand Slam final following an impressive showing at SW19, which included beating world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
It’s a remarkable and emotional turnaround for Anisimova who failed to qualify for the main draw last year and who previously took seven months out from the sport to focus on her mental health.
From the age of 15, the American has been touted for major success with her parents a large driving force behind her rise to the top of tennis.
Should she be crowned champion today, her victory will no doubt be dedicated to them.
Who are Amanda Anisimova’s parents?
Amanda Anisimova was born in New Jersey to Olga Anisimova and Konstantin Anisimov.
Her parents both worked in the finance sector and emigrated from Russia to the USA in 1998, a few years before Amanda was born, in order to give her older sister Maria better opportunities in life.
Amanda was inspired to take up tennis after watching Maria play it at college level, with Konstantin acting as her coach at the very start of her career despite never having previously played the game.
Konstantin later sought out Nick Saviano, who had coached legendary men’s doubles players Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, to train his younger daughter.
Keen to realise her potential, Amanda was home-schooled with Olga setting up a tennis camp so her daughter could still have a fun childhood.
‘It’s why my mom created a tennis camp, so Amanda could hang out with kids her own age, so she didn’t miss out on anything,’ Maria said in 2020.
‘Many of her friends today are friends from that camp.’
As Amanda’s career took off, her dad remained part of her coaching set-up but was always grounded when it came to setting expectations for his daughter.
‘Definitely pressure is big and especially pressure is growing when she is doing unexpectedly good,’ Konstantin told The New York Times in 2017.
‘Because then it’s very difficult to stay on course and be realistic and don’t be delusional.
‘I saw a lot of parents who got immediately delusional and those stories end up in a very bad way. You can’t overtrain. You can’t over-push.’
What happened to Amanda Anisimova’s dad?
Tragically, Konstantin Anisimov died from a heart attack at the age of 52 in August 2019, just a week before Amanda’s 18th birthday.
It was also just days before the US Open and Amanda immediately withdrew from the competition.
‘This is obviously the hardest thing I’ve had to go through and the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me,’ the then-teenager said in 2020.
‘I don’t really talk about it with anyone. The only thing that has helped me is just playing tennis and being on the court.
‘That’s what makes me happy, and I know it would make him happy, so that’s the way it is.
‘It [the grief] never goes away. But you can’t change it, and you have to go back to life.’
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