How art helped Amanda Anisimova back onto the tennis court and up the rankings

When Amanda Anisimova steps out onto the court, she enters a new realm.

Away from tennis, the 23-year-old is calm and relaxed, enjoying the opportunity to explore the cities she plays in. Yet on the WTA Tour, the competitive mindset and sheer all-or-nothing mentality take over.

“I feel like tennis is such a rollercoaster,” Anisimova tells Olympics.com at Wimbledon 2025, when asked to liken her playing style to a music genre. “Maybe I could compare it to rap because I get pretty serious on the court - sometimes a bit aggressive. I love Lil Wayne; I mostly listen to him before my matches.”

Anisimova is in the women’s singles main draw for the first time since 2022, where she recorded her best Wimbledon performance by reaching the quarter-finals that year.

She is well accustomed to a deep major run: the player from the USA made the semi-finals at Roland-Garros 2019, thus becoming the first tennis player born in the 21st century to reach the final eight – then final four – at a Grand Slam.

“I've already had some of that experience, especially doing well when I was a teenager,” the world no. 12 explains. “I've been playing pro tennis for such a long time that I've gained so much knowledge about how to handle certain situations or myself.”

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