It isn’t just Amanda Anisimova who is preparing to break new career ground in her Wimbledon semi-final. Her coach, Rick Vleeshouwers, joined the American’s team a little over a year ago, when her ranking was hovering just above 200 after her seven-month career break in 2023.
Since then Team Anisimova – including strength and conditioning coach Rob Brandsma, and as of April physiotherapist Shadi Soleymani – have won praise. They have helped her build back so successfully that the 23-year-old has equalled the achievement of her first career Grand Slam semi-final, reached at Roland-Garros in 2019 in her teen prodigy days.
And they have already guaranteed Anisimova will pierce the top 10 for the first time next Monday.
“We’re all feeling amazed and a bit tired,” Vleeshouwers told Jill Craybas and Nick McCarvel on Access All England.
There’s no chance of Vleeshouwers breathing easy in the hours immediately after victory – or any match, come to that. Before preparing a plan to face Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final, something else takes priority.
“The first thing I always do is watch the whole match back at the end of the day it was played on,” he says.
He learned the value of this habit when previously coaching Elise Mertens. “She asked me to watch it back as soon as possible because then you’re still in the game. It really helps me form a funded opinion.
“Watching the [Linda] Noskova match in the stadium, I felt at the beginning of the second set [which Anisimova lost, after winning the first] that Amanda’s body language was shifting, which correlates with her shot selection and tactical discipline. Watching it back confirmed that.
“Then in the third set, after the beginning was for Noskova, Amanda changed her way
of playing to be the first to be aggressive, change direction, to put Noskova on the
back foot rather than playing in her strike zone.
“She was braver with the forehand at the end of the third set, going for the lines, using the inside-out. When I was watching live, in my opinion those things paid off - and when I watched it back, it was clear. It means I am confident in the message I set out to her afterwards.
“If I didn’t prepare this well, it’s on me. I need to know I put enough time in.”
Like all coaching partnerships, they didn’t find all the solutions by magic immediately.
“It clicked really good from the beginning, but it’s a honeymoon period – if you win or lose it doesn’t matter so much,” said Vleeshouwers, whose previous charges include Yanina Wickmayer.
“Then you get to work, the picture becomes clearer – and the pressure comes with it a little more. Now it’s really settled in and she’s getting matches over the line where her tennis isn’t perfect. Her composure, mental resilience and work ethic are all standing out.
“But as a person she appreciates her tennis life much more than before. If you take distance from something that is such a big part of your life [as she did in 2023], you miss it and learn to value it.”
Anisimova actually has a 5-3 winning record against Sabalenka, although two of those wins date back to her 2019 breakthrough year. They have never played on grass.
“The most important thing in a Grand Slam is to get through the next match,” says Vleeshouwers. “You just have to beat your opponent on a particular day. You don’t need to beat the whole draw, you just need to beat the next player.
There's a lot of value in not playing your best and still grinding it out. So many matches are tough.
“It’s nice if it’s a great level and everyone is clapping for an hour-and-a-half, but there’s also a lot of value in not playing your best and still grinding it out. So many matches are tough.
“I’ll filter all my research about her next opponent into a compact message – you’ve been playing great, here are some key points for the next one which I think can give you value.
“She knows how to play, but you need courage to execute the plan. So keep playing on your own terms, your own game, and stick to that. It should hopefully bring an advantage in the match itself.”