Unfortunately, tennis players have to deal with unpleasant remarks on social media. However, Amanda Anisimova delivered a fitting reply to an account on X that made distasteful remarks about her appearance.
It has been over five years since Anisimova burst onto the scene as a teenager. In 2018, when she was just 18, she reached the fourth round of the WTA-1000 tournaments at the Indian Wells Open.
The American had an even more impressive run at the French Open the following year. Anisimova progressed to the semifinal, only narrowly being stopped in the semifinal by the eventual champion Ashleigh Barty.
Although she reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2022, Anisimova struggled to match her initial results as a young teenager. After a difficult start to 2023, she took a hiatus from the sport.
Anisimova has since opened up about what the break from tennis gave her. Being brave enough to take a break to prioritize her mental health is something the 22-year-old deserves a lot of credit for.
The 2019 French Open semifinalist made the fourth round of the Australian Open in her first tournament at the start of the year. However, she struggled for form for the next few months, and it seemed like achieving significant success in 2024 was beyond her.
However, Anisimova surprised the tennis world with a stunning run to the final of the Canadian Open, held in Toronto this year for WTA players. In her opening three matches, she defeated Caroline Dolehide, Daria Kasatkina, and Anna Kalinskaya.
Anisimova then stunned the Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal. Her maiden WTA-1000 final appearance was sealed by overcoming her compatriot Emma Navarro 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
She is set to return to the Top 50 after her outstanding results in Toronto. Unfortunately, her excellent tennis did not stop a pathetic account on the social media platform X from attempting to spread negativity.
The account ignored Anisimova's achievements in Toronto, electing to comment on Anisimova's appearance instead, which female athletes have to deal with disproportionately on social media.
"Why? She wants to be world Nr. 1 player and win a GS. Being overweight as a professional athlete doesn’t really help her reach her goals."
Anisimova would not let the person get away freely with their hateful rhetoric. Instead, she delivered a cutting response that rightly questioned why the owner of the account was so interested in commenting on a 22-year-old's body.
"Don’t you have anything better to do than comment on a 22 year olds body? Like do you have a job or friends ? Damn dude trust me, I’m okay and I don’t think anyone here is asking for your advice lolz"
Many players elect to ignore hateful rhetoric about them on social media, while others prefer calling it out, as Anisimova did. Different approaches work better for specific players, and the main thing is they do not let unpleasant remarks harm their mental health.
Social media trolling remains a significant issue, especially on X(formerly Twitter). Fans showing love and support for their favorite players can help them manage the issue.
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