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The former Roland Garros semifinalist recently put a spotlight on body shaming comments on her social media, and was last in action at the Mutua Madrid Open.

ByDavid Kane

Published May 06, 2023

TENNIS CHANNEL LIVE: Anisimova enjoyed an impressive summer surge, reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals and defeating Daria Kasatkina in Cincinnati.

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Amanda Anisimova checked in with fans on social media Friday afternoon to announce an indefinite break from the game in order to preserve her mental health.

“It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments,” admitted the 21-year-old, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 21 in 2019. “At this point my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it.”

Anisimova is the latest from the tennis world to share struggles with mental health, joining the likes of Naomi Osaka and Paula Badosa, the latter lent her support to her colleague on Instagram.

“I will miss being out there,” Anisimova's statement concluded, “and I appreciate all the continuous support.”

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Anisimova enjoyed a breakthrough season when, at 17, she rolled into her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros, upsetting Simona Halep and pushing eventual champion Ashleigh Barty to three sets.

Three months later, she suffered the loss of her father and longtime coach Konstantin.

“This is obviously the hardest thing I’ve had to go through and the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I don’t really talk about it with anyone,” she told the New York Times in 2020. “The only thing that has helped me is just playing tennis and being on the court. That’s what makes me happy, and I know it would make him happy, so that’s the way it is.”

Anisimova rebounded in 2022, reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals to re-enter the Top 30 for the first time in two years, o n ly for a foot injury to shut down her season following the US Open.

The American was last on court at the Mutua Madrid Open, where she lost in the first round to Arantxa Rus, but had been active online, spotlighting body shaming comments sent to her on social media.

“The amount of people who comment on my body every day on social media,” she replied. “will never understand what the hyper fixation is about.”

Anisimova set no concrete date for her return to action.