AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2026

Amanda Anisimova

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Amanda, welcome back to Melbourne Park. Talk us through how your preparations ahead of tournament are shaping up.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I'm super excited to be back. It's been going really well. I played in Brisbane and went straight here. Have been training a lot. Yeah, just super excited to be here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. An amazing 2025. You have climbed 32 places. How are you managing the expectations for this Australian Open?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, I'm coming off of a great year. A lot of confidence. Yeah, I had a lot of great experiences last year. I played a lot of matches. Learned a lot about myself and things that I want to improve.

Going into this year I'm just thinking about how I can get that extra edge, improve as an athlete. Yeah, there are expectations, but I use them as motivation.

Yeah, I'm just excited. Hopefully I can do even more this year and push myself harder.

Q. What was the thinking behind going back to blonde?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Well, it's like pretty personal because, I mean, I don't care, but...

So, like, I would go dark and I really liked it. But then after like a month it would look really bad. Either my roots would grow out or it would look orange. Didn't really suit me.

I was just tired of, yeah, the maintenance. I'm someone who likes to keep changing things up. So I wouldn't be surprised if I went dark again in a year. We'll see how it goes (smiling).

Q. Obviously the season can be quite grueling. When you end the year with as much momentum as you did, can it be hard to stop? How do you take that momentum into the off-season so it doesn't cool off?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Wait, what do you mean? Like the off-season?

Q. You almost don't want to stop because you're playing so well, but you have to because the season is over.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: It's interesting you say that. I feel like everyone always says we have, like, such a short great, such a short off-season. I don't think we want to be playing all year around. It's nice to get that bit of a break, also use that time to train.

Everybody was asking me how my off-season, pre-season went. I was like, yeah, it was short. It was good, and I was able to make it really productive.

It's good to have a chunk of time when you're just able to be at home and relax a bit. I think that's also really healthy for us.

Yeah, the year is really long. The most important thing is that you stay healthy.

Q. I have the complete opposite question, which was, like, how long did it take you to catch your breath at the end of last year, which appeared to be pretty exhausting? And what did you do to sort of revive yourself over whatever short break you had?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say it was exhausting 'cause I made sure to, you know, take breaks when I needed them and skip certain weeks if I needed to, if I needed just, like, a mental and physical reset, which is really important.

I was really able to prioritize that last year, I think. So I had a really good balance.

I think just the pre-season felt short because the year prior to last year I got injured in one of my last tournaments. I think I finished like mid-October. I was at home for a really long time. So going into this off-season, it was like, Wow, I'm only going to be at home for like a month. So it definitely felt different.

I just tried to understand what I wanted to work on with the four weeks that I had, or five weeks, and how we were going to get the most out of the training.

I made sure to not take my time at home for granted. Every single day I really tried to appreciate just the time that I had because it was pretty short.

Q. Your thoughts on the 1 Point Slam? And in the five weeks off, did you do anything interesting with your off-season training? Sloane does a lot of boxing and Pilates, and...

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: What did you say, someone was doing boxing?

Q. Yeah, Sloane Stephens.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I wish I got into that (smiling).

The 1 Point Slam, it was so much fun. I absolutely loved it. I would want to do it at every single Grand Slam.

It was so funny, because we were all, like, equally very, very nervous. We were just talking about how nervous we were. I think it was mostly because we didn't want to just like miss on the first shot, because it would have been so embarrassing. I think we all shared that sentiment.

At the same time, it was just so much fun to laugh with each other ahead of a big two weeks. Yeah, I loved the event. I loved how it turned out. Like the odds were so low for something like that to happen. To see them in the final was such a great story. That's what I love about tennis, that the unexpected can happen when you least expect it.

Yeah, I thought it was awesome. We all stayed up late in the lobby just watching, so it was a lot of fun.

Then to the second part of your question, I don't think I did anything out of the ordinary. It was very, like, chill. Just did my training and spent time with family and friends.

I really just took it easy. Didn't pick up any new hobbies or sports, that's for sure.

Q. This will be your first Grand Slam since those deep runs at Wimbledon and the US Open. I know those finals didn't go your way. Do those experiences with how far you went help you? Is that something you ponder on entering this AO?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, I think it helps for sure if I make it deep into the tournament to have those experiences and the things that I learned. Just being in those positions for the first time, I think the second time around is always going to be a little easier. At least I have been in those spots that I kind of know what to expect.

At the same time it's a new Grand Slam. I'm just really taking it one match at a time. Yeah, everyone is going to be very difficult to face here, but I'm looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Thank you.