From court-side tears to championship cheers: Amanda Anisimova’s amazing comeback story

Konstantin Anisimova was 52 years old when he suffered a fatal heart attack. The situation forced his daughter, Amanda, who was 17 at the time, to withdraw from the 2019 U.S. Open. In an interview with the New York Post, she spoke about what happened. “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me. It was very tough,” she told the media outlet. “As soon as I got back to tennis, it was what made me happy. And I know that’s what my dad would want me to be doing. That’s what would make him proud.”

Konstantin Anisimov and his wife left Russia to move to the United States in 1998 to provide more and better opportunities for their children. Amanda Anisimova was born three years later in Freehold, New Jersey in 2001.

“My wife had relatives who had lived a long time in the United States,” Konstantin Anisimov explained to the New York Times why they chose the U.S. “We really like Spain, but then we recognized when we visited America that everybody who comes here is going to feel like home.”

The decision was clear and was in the best interest of Amanda and her older sister, María. “In Europe, you always feel like a foreigner because it’s a completely different culture,” Konstantin explained. “America is a united country where people come from all over the world, and after a couple of years, they feel this is home, you know?”

Amanda Anisimova faces Aryna Sabalenka tonight in the U.S. Open final at 4 p.m. ET.

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