US OPEN

August 29, 2026

Amanda Anisimova

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome. Questions.

Q. Just coming off a strong week in Cincinnati, couple quality wins over Alex and Linda, how much did that week in Cincy do for your overall confidence heading into this tournament?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I thought it was a very positive week for me in Cincinnati, and I feel like I really picked up my level there and had quite a few tough matches. Yeah, I thought it was great for me coming into this tournament and a good week for me to have. Yeah, a lot of good battles out there.

Q. You posted an afternoon in Central Park over the weekend. When you're here and have to deal with all the attention and expectations, how much does it mean to you to have those moments where you can kind of be a little more anonymous and quiet time ahead of this tournament?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, it was yesterday and it was my first day off here so that's why I chose to do the chillest thing I could think of and just relax on the grass in Central Park. Yeah, it was a really great way for me to reset and kind of recharge my batteries right before tournament.

Yeah, I'm sure that we all have really busy weeks here, I had quite a busy week. But I love it, and I feel like it helps me kind of distract from the tournament and the pressures having different things to do and work with brands.

Yeah, I had a really great week mixed with a lot of different things, and I'm feeling good going into it.

Q. I was curious how you're feeling coming into the US Open as a returning finalist. Does it bring more excitement? More fans or more pressure? How are you feeling and dealing with it? Obviously you dealt with it earlier at Wimbledon, as well.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, no, I'm feeling great. This is my favorite tournament to play so I'm always excited and I look forward to this one the most.

I'd say the fans have been really great, because at my practices I feel like I'm getting even more energy. Every time I step out, I feel like it's such a great atmosphere.

Yeah, it feels great to be back.

Q. I'm sorry for a kind of a silly question, but I'm wondering if you're aware of the fan edits of you online and your expressions during matches. They're very good. Are you aware of it? What are your thoughts on it? Are you naturally that expressive in life?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, no, I see them, and I feel like they're just on my Friends For You page. Sometimes my friend is like, I saw you across my Instagram, like, 50 times today, but I don't know why. Yeah, no, I definitely see them and they're very entertaining and very funny.

But I didn't always think that, because I've definitely always been very expressive and an emotional player and, like, make all kinds of faces that I didn't even know my face could possibly make.

Yeah, when I was 17 and I played on the French Open like in the semis, I was going through the whole range of emotions and I was making all kinds of faces. The next morning I woke up and I saw all the pictures. I was mortified. I told myself, Oh, my God, this is awful. I can never make these faces again. I'm never going to do it again.

But here we are today. I just can't help it. It's who I am. Yeah, now I'm able to find them entertaining and hilarious, but at the time when I was a teenager, I really felt that was quite awful.

Q. Did you make it like a full match without just -- it would take so much concentration to keep your face straight.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I think it honestly depends on the match. I think those close matches really bring out that more emotional and expressive side in me. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I feel like when I try to hold off or be more closed off in matches, then that just sends me into a whole other direction I don't want to go in. I feel like when I'm able to let that emotion out and reset, it's actually really helpful.

Q. Of course, you took time off to rekindle your love for the sport. I was wondering what would be your advice to younger kids who either experience burnout or don't love the sport as much as they used to when they played it their entire lives. What kind of advice would you give to those kids?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I think that's a really great important question. I think it depends the situation you're in obviously. I think maybe stepping away for some time, maybe if it's just two weeks or maybe a month or maybe longer than that, depending on the situation you're in or how extreme it is.

So I think a break is No. 1 and kind of reassessing, okay, do I want to continue with this, does this still make me happy, and then figuring out your values and your goals, that's kind of something that I always look at or just journaling, figuring out the pros and cons of staying or stopping.

I think the most important thing is to really sit down with yourself before sitting down with others and taking advice from kind of everybody, because I feel like everyone has an opinion at the end of the day, but what's most important is really taking the time to figure out with yourself what you really think, because that's the most valuable opinion.

Yeah, I'm really big on just reflection and being self-aware, but obviously as a kid that can be tough. I think making wise decisions is the most important thing. If the kid is surrounded by a team or parents, I think always trying to push, push, push, and kind of shy away from what the player, the athlete is going through is not a good way to go about things.

At the end of the day, you want to see an athlete thrive and have fun and enjoy what they're doing, and if you don't see that, then obviously there's something that needs to change.

But yeah, for me I think it's just being honest and having, like, a good communication with the player and having them be able to be honest about what they're going through.

Q. A follow-up to that, what do you do now on and off the court to, like, make sure that you're still enjoying yourself? What do you infuse in the practices? I know you've painted in the past. Do you still paint while you're on tour?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Like, I paint a little bit. I actually bought this watercolor kit a few weeks ago, so I was doing a few random things here and there while I was in my hotel.

I think just not taking myself too seriously and trying to have variety in what I do day to day and not have things look the exact same every single day, and knowing there are things I can look forward to, or say like yesterday I was in Central Park on my day off, just having a good balance in my life is something that really helps me.

But yeah, also just not taking things too seriously, especially when there's so much conversation about stress and pressure. I think at the end of the day, I just want to have fun and I want to be able to enjoy my tennis and just see how far can I go.