US tennis player Amanda Anisimova has taken an indefinite break from tournaments for health reasons. As the 21-year-old former number 21 in the world rankings announced on Instagram, she has had problems with her mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022.
“It has become unbearable to take part in tennis tournaments. At the moment, my main concern is my mental well-being and giving myself some time off. I worked as hard as I could to get through it,” the American wrote.
Anisimova has the semifinals at the French Open 2019 as her biggest success. She has also celebrated two tournament wins on the WTA Tour. Most recently, the current number 46 in the world lost in the first round of the tournament in Madrid. “I’m going to miss being out there and I’m grateful for all the continued support,” she said.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus will play for the title in Madrid on Saturday evening (6.30 p.m.). The two were also seeded number one and two at the WTA event.
On the other hand, the men’s final on Sunday surprisingly includes German participation. Warsteiner Jan-Lennard Struff won his semi-final against the Russian Aslan Karazew 4: 6, 6: 3, 6: 4 and, at the age of 33, is in the final of a tennis tournament in the second highest category for the first time in his career.
In the quarter-finals, Struff had already surprised with a win (7: 6, 5: 7, 6: 3) against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. He had previously gone the full distance against Ben Shelton, Dusan Lajovic and Pedro Cachin. The German only triumphed in two sets when he defeated Lorenzo Sonego in the first round. Struff is the first lucky loser to reach the final of a Masters 1000 tournament.
