17-year-old Anisimova pulls off stunner
A 17-year-old American pulled off a shocker Thursday in Paris.
Amanda Anisimova stunned third-ranked Simona Halep in the quarterfinals of the RolandGarros French Open, cruising to a 6-2, 6-4 victory. The win was Anisimova’s first against a top-five player, and it secures her first trip to the semifinals in a major championship.
She will next face Australian Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals.
Who is this young American, who beat the defending French Open champion before her 18th birthday?
Here’s a quick look at Anisimova, and how she got to this point.
New Jersey born, Florida raised
Anisimova is the daughter of Russian immigrants Konstanin and Olga, who moved to the United States in 1998 to provide more tennis-related opportunities for the oldest daughter, Maria, according to The New York Times.
Maria went on to play at the University of Pennsylvania, but Amanda quickly grew into a star.
Born in Freehold Township, New Jersey, in 2001, Amanda later moved to Florida, where many professional tennis players live and train. She now lives in Aventura, Florida.
Why tennis?
Anisimova told WTA’s website that she was inspired to pick up the sport by her older sister. But she also loves the individual nature of the sport.
“In tennis, you don’t have to depend on anyone,” she told WTA’s website. “I did gymnastics as a kid, and I liked that too, because I only had to depend on myself.
“It’s not like it’s all about me, but at the end of the day, if I won or lost, I knew what I had to improve, and couldn’t rely on a team.”
Rapid ascent
Anisimova made her French Open debut two years ago, earning a wild-card spot when she was 15. She also won one title that year on the ITF Women’s Circuit, which is a developmental level below the WTA.
Last year, in her first professional season, she climbed to No. 95 in the world with a handful of solid performances, including a runner-up finish in the Hana-Cupid Japan Women’s Open in Hiroshima and a run to the fourth round at Indian Wells.
Anisimova then reached the Round of 16 in January in the Australian Open, where she lost to Petra Kvitova. She was ranked No. 51 in the world entering play at Roland-Garros.
Russian roots
Anisimova speaks Russian with her parents, including her father, who served as her coach earlier in her career. But she told The New York Times in 2017 that she has never visited Russia and never considered representing her parents’ home country on the court.
“I do plan on going, though,” she told the newspaper in 2017. “I really want to visit and see what it’s like and see the culture more.”
Anisimova is one of two Russian American players who have made waves at RolandGarros this week. Another young American of Russian descent, Sofia Kenin upset Serena Williams on Saturday.
Backup plan?
Anisimova said in the 2017 article that she would like to become a surgeon if the whole tennis thing doesn’t work out.
“Actually what I want to do is go to online college while I’m in my pro career and then go to med school after I finish,” she told The Times in 2017.
In a similar vein, WTA’s website reported two years ago that Anisimova “spends her free time reading books and watching Youtube videos about science and chemistry.”
“I’ve always been curious about it, and I think it’s pretty cool,” she said at the time.