There\u2019s a new No.1 in American women\u2019s tennis in town.<\/p>\n
After casually and inadvertently strolling straight past the arranged interview on the balcony overlooking the Brisbane River, the down-to-earth Californian laughs with apologetic embarrassment.<\/p>\n
It soon becomes apparent it\u2019s a good sign. Amanda Anisimova is clearly relaxed at starting her season in the Queensland capital for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God, I should go back to the hotel. Clearly, I\u2019m very tired, no [not jet-lagged], I just had a lot of training. I arrived, like, five days ago, so I should be fine by now,\u201d Anisimova laughed.<\/p>\n
Much has changed for the 24-year-old since her last visit to Brisbane as a tourist four years ago.<\/p>\n
That came after she had just saved match points to dethrone defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open before she fell to the eventual champion, Ash Barty, in the fourth round.<\/p>\n
It was a hugely successful summer for the American, who had also claimed her first title since 2019 in a lead-up tournament at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fellow pro Priscilla Hon had arranged that post-Australian Open visit \u2013 a chance to show her best friend around her neck of the woods.<\/p>\n
An early arrival this time round meant plenty of time for Hon to play host again with a post-Brisbane International trip to the Gold Coast on the cards to soak up some beach time before the trip to Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s the coolest,\u201d Anisimova said, having spent the day taking in boutiques and eateries in trendy James Street. \u201cI went shopping again yesterday \u2019cause I just, like, love the clothing stores here. Oh, we also went to the movies \u2013 I finally got to watch this one movie I wanted to see, The Housemaid. Everyone\u2019s been raving about it. It was actually really good.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, not even just here, but like having a best friend on tour is so special for me, especially someone like Pri, who’s just so much fun and also a great friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can get really tough on tour and sometimes lonely, so to have a friend like that has been just the best. And yeah, I finally got to be back here in Brisbane.\u201d<\/p>\n
The friendship had its unlikely beginnings back in 2018 after Anisimova \u2013 ranked 198th at the time \u2013 had beaten the 173rd-ranked Australian in the opening round of qualifying at a WTA 500 event in San Jose, California. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite three years between the pair and coming from opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, the pair quickly hit it off.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe’s a very social girl. I feel like she’s friends with everybody,\u201d Anisimova said. \u201cI had played her in 2018 and then a few months later we were practising together in a tournament in Japan and I wasn’t with a coach, so I was just like, \u2018Do you wanna just hit every day this week?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she’s like, \u2018What are you talking about?\u2019 I honestly didn’t care. I was just like, \u2018I need someone to hit with, and I don’t know anybody here\u2019. And that’s kind of how we became friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life on and off the court has been looking up for the 24-year-old.<\/p>\n
After her previous trip to Brisbane, Anisimova took a hiatus from the sport for mental health reasons. It proved a masterstroke primarily for her own well-being but there was also a welcome fringe benefit to her career.<\/p>\n
Last year, it finally all clicked for her on court. Healthy and happy again, she claimed WTA 1000 events in Doha and Beijing, which bookended her first two Grand Slam finals back-to-back at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Doubts had often plagued her in those early years on tour, despite having reached her first Slam semifinal at Roland Garros in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure. I think consistency was something that I struggled with in previous years,\u201d she said. \u201cI think last year was the first year where I was actually quite a consistent player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was something that was always kind of like the goal and how do I really get there? And obviously it takes a lot of work because the tournaments are so demanding and just the schedule is really tough \u2026 I think last year I really grew into the person and athlete I am now and I feel like I’m really able to take on a lot of those challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guaranteed a top-four seeding at a Slam for the first time when she heads to Melbourne Park, Anisimova can bank on her best friend\u2019s backing \u2013 that is so long as fate doesn\u2019t pit them against each other in the main draw.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the white sands of the Gold Coast beckon, but not before she completes her Brisbane International campaign.<\/p>\n
\u00a0There is still time too for Hon to continue hosting duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t know, she needs to like step it up because we haven’t done anything since my day off,\u201d Anisimova said. \u201cBut I think the botanical gardens are actually close to the hotel. I’ve been wanting to go, but I’ve just been so tired so if I get like an early afternoon off, I’ll for sure go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss out on the chance to be part of one of the most exciting tournaments of the year. Tickets for the Brisbane International are on sale via\u00a0Ticketmaster<\/a>. Prices start at $30. Premium Experiences are on sale via\u00a0Ticketmaster and the Premium Experiences Team.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a new No.1 in American women\u2019s tennis in town. After casually and inadvertently strolling straight past the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[3228,64,63,176511,72820,85,747],"class_list":["post-399167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-amanda-anisimova","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-brisbane-international-tennis-tournament","tag-news-article","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}