Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this article:
- American tennis player Amanda Anisimova is playing in the Wimbledon women’s singles final on Saturday.
- The sport has been a big part of her family. Both her parents have coached youth players, and her sister played in college.
- Amanda is the only member of her family who was born in the United States.
Amanda Anisimova is the last American woman standing at Wimbledon in 2025 and on the verge of her first Grand Slam singles title.
After defeating top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, Anisimova will face Iga Światek of Poland for the tournament championship on Saturday. Before this year, Anisimova’s best showing at Wimbledon was making the quarterfinals in 2022.
Tennis has played a huge role in her family’s life. Although they didn’t play tennis growing up, Amanda’s parents, Olga and Konstantin, did get involved in the sport later in life through their two daughters. Amanda’s older sister, Maria Egee, played college tennis while attending the University of Pennsylvania.
Get to know the family members who have helped Amanda reach the pinnacle of her tennis career.
Her parents are from Russia
Olga and Konstantin emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1998, before Amanda was born. Her sister, Maria, was 10 years old at the time.
Back in Moscow, Olga had been an “accountant in the banking system,” Konstantin told The New York Times in 2017. He also had a financial background while living in Russia.
After several trips to the United States, the couple decided to relocate. “My wife had relatives who had lived a long time in the United States,” Konstantin said. “They sent us an invitation to come visit this country. We visited it, and we liked it more and more, and we start thinking and taking it seriously.”
Amanda was born in New Jersey in 2001, but the family moved to Florida by the time she reached age 3. In the same Times interview, Olga said Amanda began playing tennis by age 2. “Until she was 7, no one touched her,” Olga said of Amanda’s technique. “That was the development.”
Olga and Konstantin became tennis coaches
Despite their previous financial careers, Amanda’s mother and father eventually switched fields and began coaching tennis.
Konstantin served as Amanda’s first tennis coach. But by the time Amanda made it to more competitive levels, she moved on to coaches outside the family. Konstantin continued to coach other players in Aventura, Florida, for a living.
“Definitely pressure is big and especially pressure is growing when she is doing unexpectedly good,” Konstantin told the Times in 2017. “Because then it’s very difficult to stay on course and be realistic and don’t be delusional. I saw a lot of parents who got immediately delusional, and those stories end up in a very bad way. You can’t overtrain. You can’t over-push.”
According to a 2020 interview with Maria in the Times, Olga opened up her own tennis camp. This afforded Amanda, who skipped traditional high school to focus on her tennis career, to have a more traditional upbringing. “It’s why my mom created a tennis camp, so Amanda could hang out with kids her own age, so she didn’t miss out on anything,” Maria said. “Many of her friends today are friends from that camp.”
Konstantin died unexpectedly in 2019
Tragically, Konstantin suffered a sudden heart attack in August 2019, a week before Amanda’s 18th birthday, and died at age 52. Amanda immediately withdrew from the 2019 U.S. Open.
“It was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Amanda told the New York Post in 2020. “It was very tough.”
Amanda told the New York Times in 2020 that it was difficult for her to leave the house after the incident. “It never goes away,” she said. “But you can’t change it, and you have to get back to life.”
Maria brought Amanda’s nephew to Wimbledon
Maria forged her own tennis career, playing collegiately for three seasons at the University of Pennsylvania before an injury sidelined her as a senior.
After studying business at the university’s Wharton School, Maria was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Finance list in 2018. According to her LinkedIn profile, she currently works as a portfolio manager for Loop Capital Asset Management in Miami.
Maria has a 4-year-old son, Jaxon, who experienced his first in-person tennis match earlier this week to cheer on Amanda. He turned 4 on Thursday, adding to an already big week for Amanda and her family. “I’m just super grateful that they flew in and got to experience this with me. It doesn’t happen often. It’s super special,” she said.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
