American tennis star Amanda Anisimova will face world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi finals at Wimbledon but the determined talent, thought to be dating a famous model, is accustomed to facing huge battles in her life
US star Amanda Anisimova has reached the second grand slam semifinal of her career and will now face world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka after beating the Russian Anastasiya Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter finals at Wimbledon. The American was visibly overjoyed at her achievement and remarked on how much she was relishing the tournament.
“It’s been an extraordinary year for me,” she said in her on-court interview after Tuesday’s quarter final round. “So many highs. It’s just been such a ride, and I’ve been enjoying every step of the way.” She topped off the moment by bringing her four year old, achingly cute nephew, Jaxon, out onto the court to melt the hearts of the delighted crowd.
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Her next match will be her first semi final at Wimbledon but the 23 year old also reached the same stage at the French Open in 2019 when she was just 17. The achievement catapulted the then teenager onto the world stage. However that same year just before her 18th birthday and as her star was rising, she suffered a personal tragedy when her father and former coach, Konstantin, was found dead after suffering a heart attack. She withdrew from the US Open that year.
“It was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Anisimova told the New York Post in 2020. “It was very tough.” She immediately withdrew from the 2019 US Open and her performances on court were a mixture of successes and failures over the next few years.
The year after her dad passed away it’s thought she did manage to find some happiness in her personal life when she met and started dating the Australian, Tyler Roos. The son of Australian Football League legend Paul Roos, Tyler is an athlete who at the time played for the Southport Australian Football Club. Tyler is also a model and starred in Season 4 of the hit reality TV series The Amazing Race Australia. It’s thought the couple are still together.
Although Anisimova continued to play tennis, in May 2023 she announced she was retiring from the game due to mental health issues. “I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,” she announced at the time. “It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At this point my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time,” she said.
She found a new hobby and turned to painting during her free time to help with relaxation and her mental state. She also launched a campaign Art for Hope, donating the funds raised from selling her paintings to mental health charities.
Making her Wimbledon comeback in 2024, she lost in the qualifying round but spoke extensively to ESPN about the importance of taking care of every area of your health.
“You can struggle with your mental health. It’s just as important as your physical health,” she said. When she was asked what made her decide to return to the sport she said she knew she would one day. “I always knew deep down that no matter how long I was gonna take off, I was gonna come back to the tour.
“I still felt like there were so many things I wanted to achieve in the sport. Winning a Slam is definitely one of them, and I didn’t wanna walk away so early after sacrificing so much of my life and working so hard,” she revealed. “Once I came back, I found this new passion for it. I feel like it’s a passion I didn’t feel back then or maybe when I was a teenager. Every win is that much more special now.”
She also spoke about the importance of being “honest and vulnerable” about a topic which is often stigmatised. Explaining that a lot of tennis players struggle with loneliness due to the lifestyle and travel she emphasised the importance of finding a balance.
Source: Mirror
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