LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Amanda Anisimova of United States of America plays a backhand against Harmony Tan of France during their Women's Singles Fourth Round match on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 04, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
American youngster Amanda Anisimova is currently ranked No.47 in the WTA women’s singles rankings
WTA star Amanda Anisimova has announced that she will be taking a break from professional tennis to focus on mental health. Anisimova made her debut on the WTA circuit in 2016 and she has grown by leaps and bounds since then, achieving a career-best ranking of World No.21 in 2019.
However, her career graph has seen a decline in the past couple of years and the youngster believes that it’s best for her to take a break and focus on mental well-being. Mental health has been a burning topic in the world of sports recently and Anisimova has become the latest athlete to speak openly about it.
Anisimova revealed her decision on social media and promised her fans that she would come back stronger. “I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022. It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At the moment my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time”, she wrote on Instagram. She also thanked her fans and well-wishers for their continuous support.
Anisimova has had a pretty rough 2023 and that seems to have taken a really heavy toll on her mental health. She played five WTA tournaments this season and suffered first-round exits in four of them. She was last seen in action on 26th April at the Madrid Open, during her opening-round loss to Arantxa Rus.
Naomi Osaka has set a benchmark for athletes worldwide and Tennis players specifically when it comes to opening up about mental health. During the 2021 Roland Garros, Osaka announced her withdrawal from the tournament citing mental health issues.
Her move sparked a fresh debate on the importance of mental health issues among everyone and especially for athletes who are always under a high-pressure situation. Osaka has since then become one of the leading figures in the mental health awareness campaign around the world.
Osaka was on a three month long break from tennis citing mental health issues and made a full-time comeback to Tennis only in 2022. Apart from Osaka, other tennis stars have also stepped up their fight against mental health abuse and is helping to spread awareness that mental health is not a taboo. Former Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic recently revealed her struggles with mental health while current world No.1 Iga Swiatek also stressed on the importance of mental health earlier this year.
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