Anisimova eases the pressure after a difficult year: "I want to be myself again"

Although it is still early to say, the feeling regarding Amanda Anisimova watching her recent tournaments is that she is close to making a significant breakthrough. In the WTA 1000 in Toronto, so far, we have only seen her win one match, enough to reach the round of 16. Could Canada be her turning point?

Still inside the top 10, we can say that the American has salvaged the first part of a summer where she must defend a huge cushion of points. Now she has to play the second hand, with the US Open awaiting her with a new Grand Slam final that threatens to push her out of that main group. And what does Amanda think about all this? Nothing, she just wants peace, to have fun, and to reconnect on the court.

This week, she was seen regaining her feelings after a complicated year. The American overcame Czech Nikola Bartunkova in her debut in Toronto and, beyond the comeback, found something she had been searching for months: to enjoy playing tennis again. After several interruptions caused by injuries and a mid-season coaching change, the American is facing the North American tour with the goal of reconnecting with her best version, away from the pressure of the points she has to defend.

Yesterday's victory was not easy. Bartunkova, one of the young players who is growing the most this season, managed to put Anisimova on the ropes, who had to stay firm when things got tough in the third set. "I knew it was going to be really difficult. I had never played against her, but I knew she is a very skilled player and is having a great year. She has a bright future ahead. Her game makes it very tough for her opponents; I knew I had to stay on top of her, and I think I managed her style very well, especially when I was losing in the third set. I'm very happy with how I played and for having held on even when I wasn't playing that well."

After a long competitive break between Wimbledon and Toronto, Anisimova acknowledged that she was eager to compete again. "I'm tired of thinking about pre-seasons. I feel like I've had many this year, especially due to my injury. I was looking forward to getting out and playing. I arrived quite early and had been here for some time. It's not easy to play your first match when your opponents have already played two because you need to find your rhythm and game on the court. I'm happy I managed to do that. Now I feel more comfortable and relaxed for the next match," valued the 24-year-old.

Amanda Anisimova shares her short-term goal

The American also wanted to leave behind the pressure related to ranking and the points she must defend during the North American tour. "I've already passed that stage of worrying about points. I'm just trying to find my game and reconnect with myself on the court. I feel like it has been a very long year. I'm also trying to regain the enjoyment. That was very important today: I felt like I was becoming myself again on the court. I missed that feeling over the past few months. I'm very happy to be working with my former coach, Rick, again. We've had a lot of fun this week, and I hope we can do well for the rest of the year. No pressure or expectations. The most important thing is to have fun and try to find my game again," the American assured. 

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By the way, Anisimova has recently started working with Rick, her former coach, again after parting ways during the season. The American explained that the time apart allowed them to analyze what happened and return with a different perspective. "I think I missed what we had last year, that energy and connection. The time apart was good for us because we could understand what went wrong; I take a lot of responsibility for that. Our closeness sometimes made me lose control and act ineffectively. Having that space and time apart helped us a lot," she concluded.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Anisimova se quita la presión tras un año difícil: "Quiero volver a ser yo misma"