Resurgent Amanda Anisimova makes deeply honest admission ahead of Toronto final

08/12/2024 04:15 PM

Amanda Anisimova acknowledged she didn't want to end her career after taking a mental health break last year but admitted that she feared that returning to the top level would be extremely tough.

After stepping away from tennis last May to focus on her well-being and missing the rest of 2023, Anisimova is now through to her maiden WTA 1000 final in Toronto. 

So far in Toronto, Anisimova has had a couple of really strong wins - with the most notable one coming against two-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal. But most importantly, the 2017 US Open girls' singles champion has been looking happy on the court and resembling the player who was once tipped to do great things in the game. 

Also, Anisimova - who is currently ranked at No. 132 in the world - is guaranteed to return to the top-50 even if she loses in the Toronto final.

"At this level, yeah. I think that, yeah, there were some thoughts about, you know, how I would stay healthy after taking quite some time away from the game. It's not easy coming back after taking, like, three months completely off, or four months, that was kind of in the back of my head, but once I started practicing and training, everything was going pretty smoothly, so I was happy with that. Honestly, my progress has been going well since last year, so I'm happy with how things have been going," Anisimova said.

For the Toronto title, Anisimova will be fighting against fellow American and defending champion Pegula. Going into the match, world No. 6 Pegula has two wins over Anisimova, having beaten the 22-year-old American 7-5 6-2 in 2020 Cincinnati and 3-6 6-4 7-6 (3) in Charleston earlier this year, respectively. 

Anisimova maybe doesn't have a win over Pegula yet but she hopes to use some experience from their past matches and lift her maiden WTA 1000 title when they meet. 

"Honestly, I don't really remember it that well. I know it was three sets, it was a super long match. I was happy with how I played that day, and I fought really hard. I know that I left feeling very proud of myself. Even though I lost that match, I was playing really well, and I think overall it was a good experience, so, yeah, there are some things I can take away from that match going into tomorrow," Anisimova reflected.