Amanda Anisimova opens up about relationship with ‘nice girl’ Emma Raducanu
Friends Amanda Anisimova and Emma Raducanu will meet in the second round of the Australian Open, but don’t expect them to become enemies ahead of the match.
It will be their first head-to-head meeting on the tour, but away from the court they know each other all too well as they have spent a lot of time together.
They have also shared similar experience in terms of their tennis stories with both breaking through at a young age as Raducanu won the 2021 US Open before her 18th birthday while Anisimova reached the 2019 French Open semi-final also at the age of 17.
They then suffered dips and struggled with injury, but are now looking to find their best form again.
Anisimova was asked about Raducanu and said: “She’s a friend of mine so it will be a bit interesting but I’m sure that we will both give it our all and I’m looking forward to the battle.
“We’ve both been around the tour. We’re the same age. We also have a mutual friend, Priscilla Hon. We’ve hung out a few times all together. She’s a nice girl.
“She’s always bringing a good energy into the room. Also an amazing competitor. I’m looking forward to the match. I’m sure it will be a good one.”
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The 23-year-old defeated Maria Lourdes Carle 6-2, 6-3 to reach the second round while Raducanu – one year younger than her American rival – upset 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2).
The pair won’t be giving each other cold shoulder ahead of Thursday’s clash.
“We definitely don’t avoid each other, we still say hi, talk to each other as normal. I think it’s up until the actual match that we start to get more serious,” the American said.
“But I personally don’t take it so seriously. It’s not like we’re going to war with each other.
“There’s no need to kind of avoid each other at the end of the day. But once we’re on the court, we just try and put our best tennis out there and just enjoy it.”
Anisimova took time out from the game in 2023 after suffering from burnout and she started the 2024 season outside the top 350, but by the end of the year she was back in the top 100 after reaching the Canadian Open final.
And the only way is up from here as she rose to No 35 in last week’s WTA Rankings while Raducanu sits at No 61.
“I think last year had a lot of ups, for sure, and some downs,” she said. “I was struggling with some injuries and just getting used to playing the full circuit again.
“I feel a lot more confident in myself now as opposed to last year when I was playing here. I still did pretty well last year, but I was kind of going into the tournament without any expectations.
“Just grateful to be playing. I feel like I have a bit more confidence on my back going into the Slam. Regardless of the result, I feel like I’m just building blocks up every single week and just working on the physicality and my skills every week.”
