Amanda Anisimova, Family Endured Her Father Konstantin’s …

U.S. tennis phenom Amanda Anisimova weathered a family tragedy on her way to the U.S. Open championship.

She plays the world’s top-ranked women’s player, Aryna Sabalenka, on Sept. 6. But there was a time not that long ago that Anisimova left tennis altogether in the wake of her father’s tragic death.

“I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,” Anisimova wrote on Instagram on May 5, 2023. “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. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it. I will miss being out there, and I appreciate all the continuous support.”

Konstantin Anisimov, who also served as Anisimova’s coach, died in 2019 relatively young and suddenly.

In 2020, The New York Times reported that Anisimova’s father, Konstantin Anisimov, “was just 52 when he died of a heart attack on Aug. 19, one week before the start of the year’s final Grand Slam.”

Her career was “soaring” when he died, but the father’s death interrupted that trajectory, The Times reported, describing Anisimova as a “grieving young tennis star” who was finding “solace on the court.”

When her dad was found dead, Anisimova withdrew from the U.S. Open, ESPN reported at the time.

With all of that heartbreak, her return to the championship in 2025 is obviously an emotional moment.

At the time her father died, Anisimova was only 17. Her parents “moved to the United States from Russia in 1998 with their oldest daughter, Maria,” according to ESPN.

“We are shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of our father. We appreciate the outpouring of love and support during this difficult time and ask that you respect our privacy,” the family said in a statement to ESPN.

According to The Sporting News, Anisimova’s sister, Maria, also played tennis but left the sport for college.

In 2017, Konstantin Anisimov told The New York Times, “My wife had relatives who had lived a long time in the United States. They sent us an invitation to come visit this country. We visited it, and we liked it more and more, and we start thinking and taking it [the move] seriously.”

Anisimova’s mom worked as an accountant in Russia, The Times reported.

In the 2020 article, The Times noted that her mother, Olga Anisimova, started a tennis camp in the U.S.